|
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Christos Pantieras lives and works in the capital of Canada, Ottawa.
Pantieras has completed five years of University studies,
and has attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts (1996) and a Bachelor
of Education (1998) from the University of Ottawa. He currently
instructs Visual and Language Arts to students in grade 7
and 8, and pursues his artistic practice at the Enriched Bread
Artists Studios.
Having exhibited throughout Ottawa, he mounted his first solo-exhibition
at the Ottawa School of Art in January 2001. Pantieras has
received grants from the Ontario Arts Council, and was recently
awarded an "Emerging Artists" grant from the City of Ottawa.
Preserving his culture through his artwork is not the only
method Pantieras explores his ethnicity. He is an active member
of the Greek traditional dance troupe of the Hellenic Community
of Ottawa, and has taken upon the Directorial role for the
performing group, The Odyssey Dance Troupe.
ABOUT HIS WORK
Moving beyond the boundaries of embedded family ideals and inherited
ethnicity, Christos Pantieras investigates a return to the
threatened nature; redefining his ancestral roots as a second-generation
Greek born and raised in Canada. With a thoughtful choice
of materials and crafted artifacts, rights of passage pertaining
to Hellenic spirit, system, and ancestries conceptualize his
work.
Candles, once lit within the Greek Orthodox Church, are reformed into
symbols of ritual, heritage and preservation. Wax cups are
solemn in a series of forty niches. A wax drawer awaits the
equal entrustment bestowed upon its companion. Weathered trunks
placed one within the other address an origin, and the unknown
of an impending journey. Photo frames from family weddings
are reconstructed into metaphoric landscapes as present day
frames of thought renew the expectations of a past. The methodic
process of production catalogues bereavement. Wax votives
document a year of mourning, as the personal and spiritual
gains of a passed ancestry are addressed through a ritualized
recognition of loss. Integrated for their implicitness towards
placement and organization, shelves, grids, and drawers reinforce
that each work is an "enthimion", the Greek word for "keepsake".
Selected Group Exhibitions
Reviews
- Maureen Korp, Ph.D., "Enthimion", manuscript, January 27, 2001
- Molly Amoli K. Shinhat, "Greece is the word: Christos Pantieras revisits his roots", The Ottawa Xpress, issue 395, Thursday, 11 January 2001, p.9.
- Michael Olson, "Exhibit offers food for thought", The Charlatan, Thursday, 26 October 2000, p. 17.
- Tim Querengesser, "The process of art", The Charlatan, Vol. 29, issue 3, Thursday, 29 July 1999, p.11.
- Molly Amoli K. Shinhat, "The weight - Cultural expression at City Hall", The Ottawa Xpress, issue 319, Thursday, 29 July 1999, p.13.
|
