Painting | 2024 | 90x90cm

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Florentia Papamitrou

Description: My work focuses on the landscape and the memories it carries. It depicts a mountain, especially the hilltop, in a realistic way - especially on the ground - painted with strong brushstrokes, while the sky is more abstract. I used oil paints and a black permanent marker on top. Writing is present in my artwork, it is a symbolic language that emerges from the landscape itself. I constantly try to observe the places and listen to their stories.

The incomprehensible texts reveal the secrets of the landscape-sometimes harsh, sometimes beautiful. Everyone has the opportunity to ''translate'' the work with their own inner translator. I paint this particular mountain often, having seen it since my childhood, in my parental house, yet this image could be familiar to all people. Through painting, I seek the timeless connection between man and his environment, bringing out the hidden narratives of nature.

The materiality that exists was caused by marks like smudges with a cloth, spatula in some places and rags pressed on the fresh paint to leave their random imprint, even sandpaper was used. All this constitutes a commitment to the "painting act".

About the artist: My name is Florentia Papamitrou and I am an artist specializing in painting. I grew up in a small town in the Peloponnese and studied at the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, completing my studies with A (9,1) in 2023.

I have participated in group exhibitions in important venues in Athens and Thessaloniki (French Institute, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, etc.), as well as in workshops. My experience in the Erasmus+ project for Documenta 15 in Kassel helped me to develop my work and understand the power of collaboration in art.

​Painting is for me a way of expression, where colour conveys the deep honesty I seek. After my studies, I moved to Athens, where, together with a group of visual artists, we organize exhibitions with the aim of presenting our work to the public. We believe that through collective creation we can achieve more.