astrolavos | art galleries

Can you imagine in what way the adventures of a young hippopotamus can influence the works of an important artist? If the above sounds intriguing, then all you have to do is to visit the art space ASTROLAVOS artlife, (11 Irodotou str, Kolonaki, tel: 210 7221200, 4 fax: 210 7221304, www.astrolavos.gr, opening hours: Mon, Wed, Sat: 11-15, Τu, Th, Fr: 11-20.30), on Thursday, 3rd of November, so as to see for yourself the individual exhibition of Dimitris Mytaras, entitled: "The Childhood Age of Art".

The exhibition is divided into three thematic units:

The first unit is consisted of the most recent works of the artist. In it, the beauty of the wild nature and animal kingdom is exposed through the fairytale "Aristeidis, the Hippo" of Yiannis Kontos and through the equally dreamy and enchanted paintings by Dimitris Mytaras. The magical elements transubstantiate with the narration of the story, with freedom and nostalgia from childhood, into color, light and drawings straight from lines and circular shapes beyond any imagination. Lines ran smoother, almost caressing the painter's canvas. Acute angled forms convert in perpetual curves, while the colors, which vary in graduation, seem to be fading in on another. The transcend from the deep grays and dark blue colors of the feathers on a butterfly going up into the sky, to the purple tones of the night and the yellow- orange of the sunset, further ahead into the dark greens of the natural scenery, constitute the sweetest and most surrealistic yet unbelievably believable and realistic experimentation of the artist.
In these artistic drawings all the magic and dreams of a world full of life and glow are being communicated. Imaginary and comforting, this world probably is the most real. It is a childs world-full of innocence and of the most inner 'needs- hopes- dreams' of every human being that still remains a child inside.

The artists need to rediscover through his art all the above virtues, mainly, the warmth of childhood, is definitely not being expressed in a crude way. On the second unit of the exhibition, the one with the artifacts- toys, D. Mytaras has salvaged dozens of old toys and with the imagination and the touch of the artist has created places of love from barren ground. Betrayed promises of toys long forgotten, toys thrown away- characterized useless, come alive and revive forgotten treasures. The artists hand like a magic wand breaths life into old wooden boards, slippers and former 'super toys'; they become dragons, flying elves and many more mythical creatures.
A superior artist, who via the dynamics of his art does not hesitate to become a child once again, so as to signify- in the most appropriate way- that playing is nothing less, than the pillar of an unconscious learning; an aesthetic education, which contributes to the stimulation of not only the child but also of the adult psyche. Dimitris Mytaras toys, like protagonists on an imaginary theatrical show carry in them unlimited resources of hope, humor and infinite poetry.

Concluding, the third unit of the exhibition is an entirely modern toy, a videogame, with which young and older visitors can test/ play on the night of the exhibition. The specific game is also going to be publicized on the internet the day of the exhibition opening. The video game is titled "Invaders", the concept belongs to Aristeidis Mytaras and so does the music compilation; the graphics are designed by Dimitris Mytaras. The game takes place on a future era, just after the distraction of Earth from alien invasion (invaders). Players direct the only fighter aircraft left on Earth, trying to save five spaceships 'sarcophagus', aboard which are the last survivors of the human kind. Purpose of the designer was not to solely redesign such a game but to create one, which comes close to absolute action and suspense. Such type games are renowned for their action effects, yet this game scopes in achieving the ultimate, at least as far as 'game playing' is concerned.'Invaders', borrows ideas and techniques from older, classic games of such type, the distinct difference is that Art itself , in the form of painting and music, conquers the technological/ mechanic world of contemporary toys.