At the Myconian Ambassador Relais & Chateaux, the Greek art of Stergios Stamos is inspired by this unique island.
What is interesting about contemporary Greek art is that it reveals the exuberance of modern-day Greece. At the Myconian Ambassador Relais & Chateaux art hotel in Platis Gialos, four original works by Greek painter Stergios Stamos tell a story of their own – one that enchants the visitor to the Aegean and Mykonos and can be found in the summer landscape. “Mykonos“, “Adelos“, “Linen Summer“, “You have a taste of the tempest on your lips” – all connect Mykonos, the Cyclades, the Aegean and the poet Odysseas Elytis with the hotel for which they have been specially commissioned. The original oil paintings were exhibited in the Ambassador’s suites in the summer of 2015, while numbered copies have been printed for all the other rooms.
By displaying Greek art in the hotel, the Daktylides family offers great opportunities to Greek artists.
The painter himself reveals that the hotel’s minimalist white environment, the blue of the sea and the exceptional summer of Mykonos all played an important role in his choice of colours and compositions. “I wanted the vibrancy of the paintings to complement the tranquility of the rooms and to give a sense of daydreaming. After all, this type of painting is directed more at the senses than the mind”. These stimuli gave Stergios Stamos the prototypical materials with which to work: “My piece entitled “Adelos” makes reference to Delos which in Greek mythology, before Apollo and Artemis were associated with the island, was presumed to drift and have no fixed position because its flat terrain suffused in sunlight made it difficult to distinguish in the Aegean waters. In “Linen Summer”, the favoured summer fabric and the colour yellow are evocative of Greek summers in the Cyclades.“
I wanted the vibrancy of the paintings to complement the tranquility of the rooms and to give a sense of daydreaming.
When Greek art shares international artistic currents and creatively incorporates elements of our land, it can find the appropriate space to be displayed and communicate with people from far and wide. “That certainly happens here and I am happy about it. Especially in Mykonos, we have the great advantage that foreigners come to our country. By displaying Greek art in the hotel, the Daktylides family offers great opportunities to Greek artists”, says the artist. Indeed, since the summer of 2015, his works have frequently been exhibited in the suites and attracted the buying interest of hotel guests who call on the Kapopoulos Fine Arts Gallery in Mykonos which represents Stergios Stamou’s work.
This year, three new paintings by famous Greek artists from the exclusive collection of the Kapopoulos Fine Arts Gallery (Alekos Fassianos, Dimitris Dallas and Vaggelis Choursoglou) were added to the hotel premises and further underscore the Ambassador’s character as an ‘art hotel’.
Who is who
Stergios Stamos studied at the Fine Arts School in Thessaloniki (B. Dimitreas workshop) 1984-1989. His works are in the Emfietzoglou Gallery Museum, in the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, in the L. Beltsios Collection, in the Cultural Center of Contemporary Art in Larissa, in the BOSCH Collection, in the Komotini Art Museum, at the entrance of the Paros Park in Naoussa of Paros and in private collections. The Kapopoulos Fine Arts gallery in Mykonos (Enoplon Dynameon 15, Central Matogianni, 846 00) has taken on the promotion of his works.
From Alekos Fassianos to Dimitris Dallas
Two very different artists represent the present and future of domestic art. Alekos Fassianos, one of the most important Greek artists, portrays symbols of everyday Greek life with his distinctive style. Acknowledged in the international and Greek art world, he has been honoured by France with the order of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and decorated by the Academy of Athens. Dimitris Dallas is the new blood of the artistic scene. Born in Athens in 1982, he studied graphic design and computer graphics DTP & web design. He too is inspired by everyday life, by the people he meets, the events he observes and the messages he takes in. Spray paint, acrylic, marker pens and spatulas all lend a fluidity and a sense of movement to his work, which makes his creations very dynamic.
