On Thursday 7th of May, in the Art Space of Astrolavos dexameni (Xanthippou 11, Kolonaki, tel 210 7294342, 3, fax 210 7293317, www.astrolavos.gr, opening hours Tu - Fr 10.30-14.00 & 18.00-21.00 Sat. 10.30-15.00) open two painting exhibitions. The painter Stella Meletopoulou presents work entitled: ''Modern Aesthetics'' whereas in the same space Elias Papanikolaou shows his work in an exhibition entitled: ''Contemplation''.

Meletopoulous' works presented in this exhibition are divided into two units: sceneries and human-centered works. In the first unit, are presented sceneries in a contemporary, post-modern aesthetic. Ambivalent sceneries where urban architecture entwines with the natural environment through an immediate connection, under the prism of motive penetration or the more indirectly chromatic surfaces referring to elements of natural landscapes (grass, sea, sky) penetrate thus attributing to the urban landscape architectural forms. Walls reminding skies, swimming pools look like seas, interior openings lyrically assembling distant natural sceneries, assigning a hint of ambiguity and metaphysical attribution to the space. The viewer sees a non-obvious space unclear whether it is internal or external. Design wise, the formation and complete geometry of the architectural elements, are toned down even softened by the poetic atmosphere of the artists color palette. Different tones of sky and sea blue/cyan weaved with sweet purples and peachy tones of the walls together with natural sceneries dark and light greens upon surfaces with perspective while some warmer colors invade the artists compositions distributive and in a smaller scale in highly decorative motives, like a chair, two flowers or some butterflies flying inside a room.

The purity, the outline and form simplicity as well as the emphasis in geometry, characterize her human - centered work which is separated in two units.
In these works whose writing is more expressionistic; with quiet, earthly tones - these works have been usually created with charcoal and glue-on rise paper creating vivid surfaces upon the canvass.
The second unit of the human centered works, characterized by purity in writing and vivid references in photography- the pop attribution of a portrait refers to a neo pop surrealistic painting idiom.

In total, Meletopoulous' work is characterized by a personal eye-sight and unique attribution of the world that surrounds us. A new dimension of reality with clear reference in Greek and European art of Modernism and also in Contemporary Art.
During the same period, in the middle gallery level, opens the new individual exhibition of Ilias Papanikolaou, entitled: ''Contemplation''.
It is a group of works on canvas and paper, on which the artist attributes the Greek, natural scenery with a disposition to macroscopic contemplation. The works, at places, single-colored only sketched are characterized by the micrographic imprint of the scenery under the influence of Byzantine Art, mainly in its perspective attribution. The microscopic perception is combined with macroscopic contemplation. Stylistically, both are attributed with a delicate bic pen or thin brush strokes of color.
The painter enlists the perplexity and the alteration of the sceneries natural elements, the labyrinth-like connections of tree leaves. The olive tree, the fig tree, their intertwining branches and their thick foliage bring out a new geometry giving emphasis to the design and a poetic - lyrical attribution.

Colors that dominate the artist's synthesis are also the characteristics of Greek light and color, the white, the blue and on a second level the yellow, the brown and the green, vividly creating the atmosphere of Greek island scenery, the sea-breeze, the calmness, the serenity of the plains and the open horizons. Multiplicity and complexity in attributing the natural elements alternate with the outmost minimalism and simplicity in sketching the buildings.

The artist himself says for his work: ''Should you stand somewhere high and observe the world you might become witness to the absolute optical synthesis. Everything seems still.halted. One might feel that time stands still. People seem microscopic or are not at all visible. Houses, fields, roads are all in tune in a rhythmic unification not examining segregations, limits or conditions.simple beauty everywhere. The freedom experienced when gazing things from high has to do with the need to detach or pull away from everyday things. The need to clear your conscience from taking part against unreasonable human conditions, ideas of socio-political or other nature. Every time, when climbing somewhere high I define myself from scratch and ascertain meanings and vanities.''