Page 41 - SMCK Magazine #4

“The Anonymity Of Holiness”, 2018. Mixed Media on Gilded Panel, 97x89x9 cm. Photo: T. Xenakis
LR: What motivates you to paint?
TX: My motivation to paint and create visual art is a life imperative that has been a constant for
palettes created an array of color harmonies. Most signi- ficantly, I felt that the works done in these mediums main- tained a power and spiritual essence in the subjects and
me for four decades. I communicate vi- sually in response to the circumstances and experiences that I witness. As all ar- tists everywhere do not work in a vacuum, I need to express myself to the contem- porary world and the issues surrounding me and others in my sphere.
LR: Why do you use media from the Me- dieval Byzantine Art periods?
TX: In the early 1990s I studied the
media used by artists, named and ano-
nymous, from the Medieval Byzantine Art
periods. Tempera, egg-tempera, encaus-
tic, fresco, and mosaic are such media. I was impressed how colors in these art techniques maintained their per- manence. I enjoyed how just a few colors in their artist
themes they conveyed. Of course, the use of precious metals like gold and silver were important in those works and are im- portant in my work as their symbology about light and enlightenment are still cur- rent.
LR: Why do you choose themes from Or- thodox iconography?
TX: The inspiration of Byzantine Art in my work as a contemporary artist is rooted in the mystical, spiritual, unusual, and unfa- miliar symbolism and visual language. In American society, the iconography of Or- thodoxy is just beginning to appear in the
mainstream as a visual. I have been using this kind of gra- phic language by applying these media and techniques of iconography in a contemporary way.
“Identifying Virtue”, 2018/19. Mixed Media on Panel, 46x55x3 cm. Photo: T. Xenakis
“ORTHODOXY DEALS
WITH THE
SPIRITUAL
IN THE DIVINE
AND HUMAN
DUALITY.
„
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