SOUTHAMPTON, NY- With pride and many artists from Greece and art lovers from New York in attendance, the Phos/Greek Light exhibition at the Muses, Kimisis tis Theotokou Church, Southampton, opened on Wednesday July 13.
The exhibition, in its second incarnation, is a group show presenting contemporary paintings and photographs by artists of Greek descent, as well as artists who live and work in Greece. It coincides with the opening of the annual Hamptons Greek Festival, which is a major social event in the Southampton area.
The coordinator of the exhibition, which will remain open to the public until September 8, is Irene Vandaraki. Well-known art collector Louise Riggio and her husband Leonard, founder of Barnes & Noble, contributed greatly to the transformation of the venue into a gallery space, a special feature of this year’s exhibition. Stephanie Riggio Bulger also contributed considerably through the Equestrian Aid Foundation.
In his speech during the brief opening ceremony, Fr. Constantine Lazarakis, Presbyter of the Kimisis tis Theotokou parish, thanked Mrs. Riggio for her presence. As a token of recognition for the active support of this art exhibition by Louise and Leonard Riggio, he presented Mr. Riggio with an icon of the Virgin Glykophilousa, specially crafted from brass.
Protopresbyter Fr. Alexander Karloutsos spoke to the National Herald and noted the significant contribution of the Riggio family, which brought, as he mentioned, our culture to America, to New York, and to the Hamptons. Father Karloutsos also expressed his joy for the presence of TNH at the opening of the exhibition, because “you are the voice of the Diaspora in America.”
Father Karloutsos also pointed out that the Riggio family are “the founders of the famous bookstore chain Barnes & Noble. They are great philhellenes.” Fr. Karloutsos continued, “The basis of Western civilization is Greece. Accordingly, the Riggio family, who love Greece, wanted to contribute something to us, and set up this exhibition.”
“These days,” he said, “due to the festival, thousands of people will visit the exhibition. This is an opportunity to show them the famous painters of Greece, to offer this ‘Phos’ (light) to all our friends in America. This time we have the Riggio family with us and we thank them because what they do is very important.”
Fr. Karloutsos also mentioned that the wines for the reception on the evening of the opening were contributed by the Lazaridis family, of the famous Domaine Costa Lazaridi.
Coordinator Irene Vandaraki expressed gratitude on behalf of the artists toward Mrs. Riggio for participating in the exhibition and noted that she found warm support from Father Alex and Presbytera Xanthi Karloutsos in her efforts to make a reality of the vision. “I believe,” she added, “in the power of Greek art.”
In an exclusive statement to TNH, Mrs. Riggio pointed out that the realization of this idea is due to her admiration for Protopresbyter Alex Karloutsos, as well as Fr. Constantine Lazarakis and the work they do for the parish. “Personally,” she said, “I have a house in Bridgehampton and I have known them for many years, we have mutual friends. I love art and I also love to support young artists and that is why I was very happy and felt satisfaction in doing so.” To our question about the result of the effort, Mrs. Riggio replied: “The result is wonderful!”
The only photograph in the exhibition is the result of an idea by Venia Bechrakis which, as she told TNH, is due to a performance. It is, she pointed out, staged photographs in public places, “self-portraits with various themes which have to do with female roles which are overturned.” “The basis of my photos is photography, to create an image like a painting,” Bechrakis said. To date, Bechrakis has presented exhibitions in Athens and other major European cities.
Artist George Magiras, whose works are presented in the exhibition, also spoke to TNH about his art. “They are works that reflect nature. I basically create fairy-tale scenes, with intense reminders of childhood. They could be illustrations for children.