Neo-Expressionist Crucifixions by Panos Evangelopoulos

Written by Shane Molinar Tuesday, 11 January 2011 22:55

New York City - Religious iconography persists as a subject that gives rise to innovative contemporary interpretations, as seen in the slashingly energetic neo-expressionist crucifixions of Panos Evangelopoulos, in “Odyssey Within: An Exhibition of Fine Art From Italy and Greece” on view at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from December 14, 2007 to January 3, 2008. (Reception Thursday, December 20, from 6 to 8 PM.)

The Byzantine heritage of Panos Evangelopoulos and the modern art he encountered during childhood sojourns in Europe coexist in his sensibilities. "Every modern-day painter has the right to conceive his or her own alphabet, from A to Z,” says Panos Evangelopoulos, so one must be prepared to become familiar with a different, intimate alphabet when one views the works of this Greek artist. Though it may sound intimidating at first, one quickly realizes that this is no foreign language that Panos' pieces seek to converse in, but rather it is the language of experience gained, experience shared.

He allows the concrete and the abstract to mingle freely. He believes in dialectic, in the play of opposites, and projects this onto canvas. He describes the light of his native Greece as "a big explosion...too bright, too violent," and yet his paintings are drenched in it. Combining anguished subject matter with painterly exaltation Panos strives to give a life to his subjects that they acquire outside the paragon and in the mind and soul of the viewer.

Educated at the School of Art of the Aristotelio University of Thessaloniki, Panos graduated with a strong style, and at the head of his class. He has gone on to exhibit widely in Greece, and has received many accolades. Religious iconography features heavily in many of his pieces, but these works go far beyond mere religiosity, instead speaking of deep transformation with the juxtaposition of classic figures against the wild artistic hinterlands of conception. In a phrase, these aren't your Grandmother's crucifixes.

Agora Gallery - 530 West 25th Street - Chelsea, New York - T. 212 -226-4151 Visit : www.Agora-Gallery.com