Greek artist Andreas Georgiadis' "Come Back" exhibition has opened its doors to art goers, hosted by Istanbul Concept, which has a rich portfolio of local and international artists and designers.
Dedicating his exhibition to the great man of letters Constantine P. Cavafy, Georgiadis nods to the intersecting roads that both artists passed through in Istanbul. For this, Georgiadis is paying homage to the versatile poet Cavafy almost a century after his death through his exhibition, creating a special art bridge between Greece and Türkiye.
"Every work I create is intended to build a bridge with viewers so that I can share my feelings and thoughts with them. This is a key motivation for my art. So this bridge is addressed to everyone individually, regardless of their origin or nationality. And I will be happy if I can share with the viewer what I have described with great sincerity in my works," Georgiadis explained.
The exhibition, in which every work has been produced with ink on paper with references from Cavafy's universe, takes its name from his poem "Come Back." Through his brushstrokes, Georgiadis traces Cavafy's footsteps, attempting to establish a dialogue with the poet and his life, as well as with the leading figures of Cavafy's works.
"The poetic universe of this amazing artist remained for me the keystone of this project. Faithful to his poetry, I recreate this world with my works, describing either the scenography of his city or the anthropography of his heroes. Thus, each painting is based on one of his poems. That is why work titles relate to the titles of his poems, and that is why I chose the title 'Come Back' which is also borrowed from one of his great poems," the artist elaborated.
Georgiadis mentioned that most of the works in the exhibition were completed during the COVID-19 period. "This was for me a way of resisting reality and escaping from it. Cavafy as an inspiration was always in my mind, but now the circumstances allowed it to become a reality. It was presented in Athens last year, in a very important museum. I had already decided, however, to carry this project to Istanbul, because I love this city so much, and I feel very familiar there. Mainly, though, because my deep friendship with Işık Gençoğlu assures me with the guarantee for excellent presentations here," he said.
Georgiadis creates a rich, yet often metaphysical light with translucent and tonal gradations in a purely personal style, allowing the dense and solid shadow to permeate the calm waters of his artistic adventure, disturbing that adventure with symbolism and ambiguity and preferably with dark tones. The spaces and paths of Kavafis' life create a geography of remembrance, suggesting different interpretations of the same stories, where absence and suggestion create poetic atmospheres and metaphorical symbolism.
"It is the darkness that will allow doubt to creep into my work. It is this lack of light, the small entry to the viewer's view into my artistic world. And the light, rich in gradations, and almost always staged, will allow me to hint at stories that the viewer might be able to create. I always work with colored inks on handmade cotton paper. I use brushes, pens, my fingers, and plenty of water to offer the work I create, the moisture it needs for feelings to develop. Because I don't capture images in my art, but feelings," he said.
Within that frame, Georgiadis employs a geography of remembrance, suggesting different interpretations of the same stories, where absence and suggestion create poetic atmospheres and metaphorical symbolism.
"Following the way of the great Alexandrian poet, I recall upon the memory to return and come alive before me, such as feelings of lost love. Cavafy always went about his art work in this manner, and I focused on this while I was creating the artworks for the exhibition: I describe a past love memory, and not something that is evolving at the moment," he added.
"Come Back" is open for visits until Feb. 12, in the Istanbul Concept Gallery every day except for Mondays.