A dusting of snow

It snowed for about three hours yesterday morning - very unusual for this part of Athens and a sharp contrast to the 20oC we enjoyed last week. 

By 11:00 the sky was blue, the sun was shining and all the snow was gone. More snow is predicted for tomorrow and Thursday. It is bitterly cold.

 

Demons and Dew

Demons and Dew by Pier Paolo Calzolari, at the Berniers/Elliades Gallery, Athens.

Calzolari is one of the pioneering figures of the Arte Povera movement. His text 'La Casa Ideale' is considered one of the landmarks of the movement. His practice spans painting, sculpture, sound, performance, architecture and video.

In this exhibition the artist presents 20 new works in which he incorporates sculptural elements made of organic matter such as salt, feathers, clover petals and shells.

Untitled, 2021, (pigmented salt, broom/fan, oil pastel, iron, shell, oil candle and lead on panel)

Untitled, 2021, (salt, oil pastels, pastel a l'ecu, wood, varnish, steel and lead on panel)

Untitled, 2021, (pigmented salt, oil pastel, pastel a l'ecu, golden thread, lead, copper, oyster and oil candle on panel)

Untitled, 2021, (salt, pastel a l'ecu, broom/fan, tobacco and flannel on paper)

Untitled, 2021, (pigmented salt, oil pastel, copper, shell, oil candle and lead on pencil)

Winter at the Niarchos Centre.

Last Sunday we had a wonderful morning walking around the park of the Niarchos Centre. We started with the ice rink that they have set up - quite a lot people skating, most of them beginners, but what fun!

We walked along the canal

and ended up at the plaza where they were setting up for the David Bowie memorial concert which was on that evening.

We then walked along the other side of the canal and entered the park. It was a lovely, sunny day and it was packed.

We got to the music making area where there are xylophones and all kinds of other ways of making music - here, kids are jumping on the tiles, resulting in all kinds of sounds.

This is part of the Sound and Light feature - in the evenings peope can play the piano and the cubes light up in different colours

Chess playing

One of the fountains

The maze

We started doing it, but I quickly got bored

Ken however persevered and got to the centre.

A large activities area further on.

We noticed that some of the lavender has started flowering: far too early, but given that they have not had winter weather here yet, it is not surprising.

The majority of the planting in this park is olive trees and lavender bushes, like this avenue here. Even now, the scent of lavender  is overpowering as you walk around the park. I can't imagine what it will be like in the spring, when all the lavender has flowered.

We started walking uphill and reached the building which houses the opera, the public library, an art gallery, a shop, a cafe/restaurant and a Michelin 2-star restaurant.

We could see the sea from here, and Pireus in the distance.

Behind us, the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill, once I zoomed in.

And the park stretching below.

 

We stopped to have a drink in one of the outdoor cafes. On our way out, we heard music: a DJ and people dancing.

I just had to join in and after that, it was time to go home.

Dutch Flowers

'I have invested all my skill in this picture. I do not believe that so many rare and beautiful flowers have ever been painted before, nor rendered so painstakingly. It will be a fine sight in the winter'. Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Bloom - Dutch Flower Painting, 1600-1800

at Compton Verney.

At the dawn of the 17th century, Netherlandish painters such as Jan Brueghel the Elder and Ambrosius Bosschaert were among the first artists to produce pictures that depicted flowers exclusively. Flowers were to become one of the most characteristic themes of Dutch paintng. Several contemporary developments influenced this genre, including a growing scientific interest in botany and horticulture, the establishment of botanical gardens, and a booming international trade in exotic plants. By the 1630s, speculative trade in the most coveted bulbs and flowering plants resulted in prices reaching astonishing heights - the so-called 'tulip mania'. Prices soon crashed, but the Dutch enchantment with flowers endured.

The earliest flower paintings feature flat, symmetrical arrangements, often seen from a high viewpoint to ensure that each carefully rendered flower is visible.

Over the course of the 17th century, bouquets became more relaxed, with asymmetrical rhythms and a willingness to allow flowers to overlap to create a more natural sense of depth. By the late 1800s, flower painting adopted a brighter palette to create increasingly ornate compositions in keeping with the fashion for exuberant decoration.

Throughout the period, artists invented fictional arrangements of flowers that did not bloom in the same season. Today, the bouquets can look deceivingly realistic. As a result of forced flowering and refrigeration, we are used to enjoying many varieties all year round. But 17th and 18th century artists had no choice but to use drawn studies and printed materials to create their imaginary bouquets.

Jan Davidsz de Heem, Flowers in a Glass Bottle on a Marble Plinth, 1664-65

This pyramid of exotic foods stands out against the black background. It showcases De Heem's flawless use of colour and his talent for creating new, playful arrangements. De Heem was the most famous and influential still-life painter of his day. He played a vital role in turning the flat, symmetrical compositions from the early 17th century into a more relaxed, fully rounded arrangements.

Balthasar van der Ast, Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects, 1630

Paulus Theodorus van Brussel, Fruit and Flowers, 1789

Rachel Ruysche, Flowers in a Vase, 1685

Jacob van Walscapelle, Flowers in a Glass Vase, 1670

Ceramics at Moin Coin

Ceramics at Moin Coin, Athens.

Unfortunately there were no labels indicating who the makers were this time. When I asked I was told that this was because this was not an exhibition.

Threesome Ceramics

Podotas Ceramics

Podotas Ceramics

 

Clever!

I couldn't work out why I could not see a torso and head

and then it all became clear. Clever and fun.