CONTEMPORARY IKONOGRAPHY Thoughts on My Work The Orthodox Series: My art is the art of contemplation. meditation and reflection. There is a demand of absorbed and prolonged attention to my work. Far from being confined to simple oblongs and squares, my obsession with these shapes, are celebrated as homage as liberators, not confiners or constrainers. The infinite variables of chromatic statements, generate a tremendous spectrum of feelings and emotions as the colours synthesize and fuse as reflection in the retina of the eye. The intended shape and form of my paintings work towards the goal of proportional rightness, together with the sense of colour, allows for emotional possibilities of ancient Byzantine forms. Inspiration and creative outflowing originates from a love that emanates out of the Mediterranean Orthodoxy, of liturgy, plain song, incense and iconography. Among the most striking things of the liturgical worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the uniformity of its form. My work reflects on the structure of Byzantine architecture to the extent that Orthodox churches are surmounted by a single dome or a series of domes. The 'art' within my work is precisely in rendering the 'presence' on canvas. In essence, an impossible task but undaunted, mainly to the sheer excitement of Orthodoxy and to the symbolism within, I continue to explore all aspects and nuance of the notion of 'presence'. My present work is devoid of overt clues and is mostly confined to a single formal theme. No doubt this latter factor allows for imperceptive comments from impatient critics and viewers. I feel my art is that of contemplation, which demands absorbed and prolonged attention. The apparent obsession with squares and oblongs celebrate homage as liberators, not confiners. The infinitely variable chromatic statements generate a tremendous spectrum of feelings and emotions from the most sombre to the most vivid. I like to think of my work aligned with the Haiku process of poetry, the compression of means and the total concentration on a single nuance of feeling. Formal design and proportional rightness gives support to the emotional colour juxtaposition. I think to view my work, something like a suspended attention, prolonged suspension of the moment of reaching conclusions, where interpretation would have time to deploy itself in several dimensions, between the grasped visible and the lived ordeal of a relinquishment. There would also be, in this alternative, a dialectical moment consisting of not grasping the image, of letting oneself be grasped by it instead: thus of letting go of one's knowledge about it. Born Nicosia, Cyprus, is a full time visual artist with his studio just outside Exeter, UK. His main body of work is inspired from traditional Greek Orthodox iconography and the notion of 'presence', which he continues to employ within his own modern icons and abstract work. Also archaeological illustrator in Cyprus Other inspiration comes from his work in Cyprus as an archaeological illustrator for the Department of Antiquities, University of Cyprus, University of Oxford and other archaeologists and universities. See drawings and painting influenced from archaeology at: graphic and cypriot Dimitrios is a member of the International Society of Artists (ISA) and is an Associate of the Institute of Professional Designers (AIPD). Exhibitions: iStorm Gallery, Exeter. 2010 The Studio, Exeter. 2012 Exeter Open Studios. 2010 The Gallery, Tavistock. 2008 St. Martins, Birmingham 2006 ENGLISH CATHEDRALS EXHIBITIONS: Touring Programme, 'Contemporary Iconography'. Truro cathedral Exeter cathedral Gloucester cathedral Worcester cathedral Wells cathedral Hereford cathedral Bristol cathedral Tewksbury Abbey Southwell Minster Winbourne Minster Also exhibited abroad: Cyprus Italy Holland Greece Study: Part time-Fine Art from Bourneville School of Art, Birmingham, England, Ruskin Hall, (sub of Central School of Art). 1962-64 The quotations mentioned in the video should be - Marshall McLuhan book 'The Medium is the Massage'.

• published: 10 Sep 2013
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