THE ATHENIAN
MAY 1989
Mary Machas
In
doors and out
A far different perception of the landscapes is offered by George Kazazis, another promising young artist exhibiting this month at Medusa Gallery.
Earlier work by this artist was based on old photographs and consisted of various arrangements of dynamic abstract shapes which recreated the rhythms of their original stimuli. While maintaining an abstract format, Kazazi’s new work is more narrative as he defines the natural landscape as well as interior space with a strikingly vivid color scale.
Kazazis create in several paintings the illusion of vast indoor space through converging verticals and horizontals. Towering rooms and endless corridors vibrate with rhythms of the spatula’s motion.
A field of brilliant color floods the lovely seascapes. Orange-red configurations evoking islands float in an agitated sea of deep blue; intense azure chases rolls of sparkling white waves breaking on the shore; tawny yellows roast the richly textured surface of the beach. The artist adds fabric collage and impasto to construct coarse, uneven surfaces, enriching the texture and beauty of the paintings.
A night cityscape inspired by science fiction is most striking; its dark, velvety gloom is pierced by glittering lights. A strip of flat bright cobalt blue runs across the top of man paintings – a calming contrast to the dynamic color-scheme below and the spatula’s vigorous textures.
Kazazis studied at the School of Fine Arts with professors George Mavroides and Nikos Kessanlis: this is his second one-man show.
