LR: Why do you use media from the Medieval Byzantine Art periods?
TX: In the early 1990s I studied the media used by artists, named and anonymous, from the Medieval Byzantine Art periods. Tempera, egg-tempera, encaustic, fresco, and mosaic are such media. I was impressed how colors in these art techniques maintained their permanence.
I enjoyed how just a few colors in their artist palettes created an array of color harmonies.
"The New Trinity", 2019. Mixed Media on Gilded Panel. Photo: T. Xenakis.
Most significantly, I felt that the works done in these mediums maintained a power and spiritual essence in the subjects and themes they conveyed. Of course, the use of precious metals like gold and silver were important in those works and are important in my work as their symbology about light and enlightenment are still current.
LR: Why do you choose themes from Orthodox iconography?
TX: The inspiration of Byzantine Art in my work as a contemporary artist is rooted in the mystical, spiritual, unusual, and unfamiliar symbolism and visual language. In American society, the iconography of Orthodoxy is just beginning to appear in the mainstream as a visual. I have been using this kind of graphic language by applying these media and techniques of iconography in a contemporary way.
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