Pelagia Angelopoulou, one of the world’s most exciting contemporary mosaicists today launched her first exhibition in the Middle East. Entitled: ‘The Myth of Gold & the Power of Stones’ the exhibition is being held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai until December 3rd 2006.
Angelopoulou, who essentially developed and invented a new visual art in her use and methodology, characterizes her mosaic work as ‘contemporary.’ This may seem to contradict the fact that the art of mosaics was born in the fifth century BC and was developed until the 14th century AD.
“After five centuries of silence, a rebirth took place at the end of the 19th century and a third revival of the art of mosaic is currently in progress. The medium has attained a far wider geographical spread than ever before with a greater range of styles, techniques and subject matter,” said Angelopoulou. “The art has split into two clearly discernible streams: the traditional and the experimental with a whole gamut of variations in between.”
“Technology, which constantly creates new idioms in aesthetics and new materials, is the primary driver behind contemporary mosaic art. This has given the otherwise ‘rigid’ art form a freer means of expression and the imagination of the individual artist can run freely and choose from innumerable possibilities,” she continued.
Angelopoulou was born in Athens, Greece and studied painting, history of art and mosaics at the University of Fine Arts in Athens. After graduation with honors, she traveled extensively throughout Greece and Italy studying mosaics of ancient Roman and Byzantine periods as well as contemporary art. During this period, she participated in several group exhibitions and at the same time executed many private commissions. She was also a Professor of Mosaic at the University of Fine Arts in Athens from 1984 to 1993.
In 1991, she held a series of solo exhibitions in the Japanese Museums of Tokyo, Osaka and Utsunomiya. Her work has been exhibited in the monumental Romanesque church of St. Pantaleon in Koln, Germany, the Vorres Museum in Greece, as well as many private collections in the USA, Japan, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and of course her country of origin, Greece.
About Pelagia Angelopoulou:
Pelagia Angelopoulou was born in Athens, Greece. She studied painting, history of art and mosaics at the University of Fine Arts of Athens.
After graduation with honors, she traveled extensively throughout Greece and Italy studying mosaics of ancient Roman and Byzantine periods as well as contemporary art. During this period, she participated in several group exhibitions and at the same time executed many private commissions.
She has been a Professor of Mosaic at the University of Fine Arts in Athens from 1984 – 1993. In 1991, she held a series of solo exhibitions in the Japanese Museums of Tokyo, Osaka and Utsunomiya. These were organized by the major publishing group the “Yomuri Shimbun” in collaboration with the Japanese Agency of Cultural Affairs. She has been holding solo exhibitions in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands and USA from 1992 to date.
Pelagia has received International acclaim of the quality and the originality of her work in 1991 and her works can be found in museums throughout the world including Greece, UK, Germany, Japan and the USA.
Since 1995 Pelagia shares her working and living time between Brussels (Belgium) and Cologne (Germany).
