THE ATHENIAN
Mary Machas
Between earth and stars
The recipient of a scholarship from the Research Center of Arts and Sciences, Annita Xanthou is exhibiting the results of her studies at Gallery Medusa. The well-known sculptor, Takis, who lives and works in Paris, is the founder of this Center whose principal aim is the creative interaction between these two fields.
Xanthou is a young and talented painter, who lives in a picturesque village of Mount Pelion, “close to the earth, close to the stars” as she says, and since childhood has relished the warmth of the sunlight and the brilliance of the moon. Inspired by the environment and its energy, Xanthou has paired art and science in the form of one basic construction with multiple variations.
The construction is minimalist in concept: an empty glass backed by an aluminum reflector is set on a tall wooden stand facing the wall. An transformer on the floor is then activated on the wall like an painting.
The simplicity of this conception is overpowered by the endless possibilities. Color may be added to the water reflecting on the wall in rhythmic ripples. Multiple imagery may then be effected by larger stand set with two or more glasses. In another variation the sense of a painting on the wall is enhanced when the image is reflected against a framed piece of rice paper.
Xanthou also envisions her construction as a large outdoor installation spreading its brilliant imagery on the surrounding buildings whose flat surfaces make a perfect “canvas” – an innovative addition to public art.
Xanthou is a partly self-taught artist. She chose to suspend her formal studies in Rome, spending all her time in the museums, “Looking and learning”, much of it in Paris. This is her second individual show.
