“A place to escape to”
This latest project, “a place to escape to”, by the contemporary Byzantine artist Marinella is a series of large floral oil paintings measuring about 120cm x 140cm.
In reality this series represents a continuation of the “embracing forgotten values” project where the artist produced 8 large Byzantine inspired paintings, in which she extended the use of two fundamental techniques in painting, the classical, or renaissance, with the techniques she learnt in Greece to paint original Icons , or Byzantine art . So this new series is for her an opportunity to combine and further blend these two techniques into a third medium , in a way if you like, that Giotto may have done, but I still like to think that Marinella has given the floral subjects her own very personal interpretation. Beyond the technical aspects, for example, the use of gold leaf, the choice of flowers as her subject matter is a direct continuation of the religious or Byzantine content because the paintings reveal the profound spiritual beliefs of the artist.
Prof. Zoe Zauartes.
