The “Untouched Museum”
Of
Nansy Anastopoulou
Nansy Anastopoulou of Samos, albeit a self-taught painter, is distinguished for her diligence and dexterity. The subject of the present series of her paintings is the underwater world, and her approach in depicting it is quite peculiar and markedly personal. Nansy conceives this realm as a distinct “museum”, in which the submerged remains of human activity —being inert paraphernalia of a space that is free of any human intervention whatsoever— are elevated to “exhibits.” This is due to the proliferous interference of the underwater nature itself, as it unfailingly overlays them with its flora and fauna.
In Nansy’s paintings parts of vessels or other objects resting in the cold stillness of the sea-bed become a compositional core upon which an explosive and brilliant colour scheme is built progressively, methodically, and in sheer contradistinction to the cold tonality of the surrounding “infinite blue.” To this end, the sophisticated technique employed, that is, a technique of mixed media, conjures up the richness of the underwater biomorphic motifs in their natural bustle. The resulting rich texture, owing to the high-relief quality of the materials employed (sand, fabric, and wood) enhances each work. What is more, this particular mode of facture alludes to the fluidity of form, to the continuous metamorphosis and alternation of the sea-bed, whilst creating an autonomous sense of depth and of dynamic movement.
The undulating relief of the pictorial surface and the rich colouristic manipulation are undeviating elements of Nansy’s formal language, which she appears to possess and handle with competence.
Another characteristic of Nansy’s painting is the distinctive use of pictorial light. Discreetly diffused, on the one hand imbues the overall composition, on the other hand is captured, focused and exploding, affecting an expressionistic frenzy of colour and dynamic movement on the surface of the “exhibits”, or better on the critical elements of composition. This characteristic manipulation of pictorial light recalls the moment when a powerful ray of real light (from the diver’s torch or the bathyscaphe) reveals the colour magic of an otherwise dark sea-bed and in some manner causes the viewers’ communion with this experience.
I consider this collection of paintings by Anastopoulou —“The Untouched Museum” — to be the fruit of labour, discipline and long study. This is attested to by her dexterity in employing her painting means, by the creative and inventive pictorial solutions she reaches, as well as by her ability to reconstruct reality in a dynamic, vibrant and rhythmical colour scheme.
I hope that her quest in painting will not pause here nor will it be standardized. As guarantee, I call upon the persistence, dedication and discipline that characterize her as a person.
Vangelis G. Zournatzis
Art Historian
