Photographic Pairs 2022 at the Hellenic American Union
The Hellenic American Union, in collaboration with the "Photographic Circle," presents the eleventh exhibition of the annual series "Photographic Pairs." The series, directed by photography theorist and founder of the "Photographic Circle," Platon Rivellis, showcases the work of two photographers and members of the "Photographic Circle" whose life or photographic paths intersect.
This year, the exhibition features photographs by Spyros Polytarchou and Yiannis Zisis. The exhibition is curated by photographer Panos Rozakis.
The opening takes place on Monday, January 17, 2022, at 19:00, at the Kennedy Gallery of the Hellenic American Union.
The exhibition will run until February 9, 2022.
The curator of the exhibition comments on the work of the two photographers: The "poetic" photograph resembles a child's game. It emerges when the creator is focused and carefree; when they are fully present and simultaneously forget themselves. "Building" their own "fairy tale" truly and seriously. Without conviction and awareness; with faith and boldness.
| Exhibition opening | Monday, January 17, 2022, 19:30, Kennedy Gallery, Hellenic American Union, Massalias 22, Athens |
| Exhibition duration | January 17 – February 9, 2022 |
| Operating hours | Monday–Friday: 12:00–21:00, Saturday: 10:30–14:30, Sunday closed |
| Admission | Free entry |
| Information | Cultural Affairs Department, Hellenic American Union (210 3680052), www.hau.gr/culture |
Spyros Polytarchou
The photographs of Spyros Polytarchou enchant and deceive us. They enchant us with the apparent pictorial quality of the colors, the atmosphere of tonal contrasts, the theatricality of the compositions, and the expressiveness of the gazes. At the same time, they deceive us with their nostalgic and dreamy mood, leading us to obvious interpretations. However, behind these easy categorizations lies the vision of a "mature" creator who, with awareness and craftsmanship, evokes memories by retrieving fragments of the past. The viewer senses that the photographer himself is the "child," who in a "mythical" present idealizes, magnifies, and daydreams. A child who ultimately captivates and moves us, as we see them set up their world’s stage and direct themselves.
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Yiannis Zisis
Yiannis Zisis manages to "give birth" to visual surprises by moving within his familiar space and observing with curiosity what the habitual eye would overlook. However, with the same ease with which he discovers the unexpected in the mundane, he boldly approaches what is unknown and perplexing to him, achieving its appropriation. Thus, his images, despite their thematic variety, invested with the charm of discovery and the joy of play, the tenderness and warmth of his gaze, offer us a world that is simultaneously natural and paradoxical, comforting and disturbing. An elixir of childhood and an antidote to boredom.
Panos Rozakis
Opening
