The colour blue and its various shades are directly related to the image of the clear sky and the deep sea. Typically a celestial colour, an element of calm, It is seen as the colour of harmony, trust and freedom. If were possible to characterise the Mediterranean with just one colour, it would certainly be the colour blue.

In ancient Egypt, blue was a protection against evil in the afterlife and in ancient Rome it was seen as the colour of barbarians, while in medieval Europe it was a sign of strength. Painters in the 19th century used it to depict feelings and moods. It is a colour that has been associated at different times with immortality, spirituality, revelation and purity. In addition, shades of blue are interwoven with the law of universal attraction.

Five artists, Areti Kloutsinioti, Peny Manavi, Alex Spathoulas, Asterios Toris and Elias Tsakmakis, each with their own distinctive styles, have created works that contain the colour blue or state it subconsciously through their subjects. In any case, the blue colour palette of the sea and the sky that surrounds us is nothing more than an impressive illusion, often akin to the reality offered to us by painting and sculpture.

Francesco Risola is participating with his work ‘Beautiful world, created by Angels’’ in the group exhibition ‘Αrt Athina Contemporaries: 2015-1976’, curated by Christoforos Marinos.

Biographies

Areti Kloutsinioti was born in Athens. She is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts of Paris, where she was taught painting by Pierre Matthey and mosaic art by Ricardo Licata. She has had eight solo exhibitions and has taken part in selected group exhibitions in Greece, Cyprus, Miami (Wynwood, March 2012) and Ecuador. Major Greek art critics have written about her work, which can be found in private collections and institutions. Her work appeared at the international contemporary art event ART ATHINA 2011.

Peny Manavi was born in 1968. She lives and works in Athens. She graduated in 2004 from the Athens School of Fine Arts, where she was taught by Yannis Psychopaidis. She is also a graduate of the University of Athens Physics Department and has a postgraduate degree in Radiation Physics from University College London (UCL). She has had eight solo exhibitions in Athens, Thessaloniki, Syros and Madrid, and has taken part in group exhibitions in Greece and abroad, including venues in New York, Toronto, Paris, Madrid and Lausanne. In 2013 she took part in the exhibition “Art en Capital” at the Grand Palais in Paris, where she was awarded the “Toile d’Or de l’Année 2013” by the “Federation Nationale de la Culture Française”.

Alex Spathoulas was born in 1980 in Athens, where he was also raised. He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1999 to 2003. He graduated with a distinction from Studio VI, where he was taught by Triantafyllos Patraskidis and Vassilis Vlastaras. In 2001 he took a painting course at the Facultad de Bellas Artes in Madrid, through the Erasmus programme. He also took a painting course at the School of Fine Arts taught by Manolis Baboussis. He has taught art in a child psychology office and also paints interiors. He has taken part in selected group exhibitions in Greece and recently in Japan, while in 2008 he had his first solo show in Athens.

Asterios Toris was born in Munich, Germany. In 1980, he won first prize in the Delta Institute painting exhibition. He has studied painting at the Morricke Schule studio outside Stuttgart in Germany. He has worked on television and theatre productions and has taken part in a number of group exhibitions. He has also shown his works in individual exhibitions in Greece at selected galleries and art spaces.

Elias Tsakmakis was born in Athens in 1980. He studied in Sculpture Studio II at the Athens School of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 2012 under the supervision of Yorgos Lappas. As a student, he attended courses in engraving, ceramics, set design, photography and contemporary multimedia. He is also a graduate of the Chemistry Department in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Patras. He has taken part in five group exhibitions in selected galleries and art spaces in Athens. His work has also appeared for the last two years at the international art events Art Athina 2013 and Art Athina 2014, with the gallery Art Zone 42. His first solo exhibition took place in December 2014 at Art Zone 42.

Francesco Risola was born in Italy. He has a degree in Architecture from Instituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia. He has been occupied as an architect specialised in renovating buildings in the historical centre of Venice. He has since been dividing his time between Italy and Greece, living and working as a visual artist. He has also participated in group exhibitions in Venice, Athens and Thessaloniki. His first solo exhibition in Greece was presented in Art Zone 42 Gallery. His works are being kept in private collections and corporations in Greece and abroad.