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KLEARCHOS LOUKOPOULOS
b. 1906, Thermos, Aetolia. d. 1995, Athens. PATMOS: 15 Drawings, 1973
The island of Patmos is one of the smallest of the group of the 12 islands located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea known as the “Dodecanese”. No more than 34.6 km2, it
is known as the “Land of the Apocalypse”. It was there that St. John the Evangelist was inspired and wrote the Book of Revelation. A monastery of the 11th century A.D. dominates Patmos, as it is built at the summit of the island and has the appearance of a fortress rather than a monastery. Because of its history, the town of Patmos has been officially declared a “holy city”. Indeed, the island itself has a special atmosphere of serenity which engulfs the visitor. Greek sculptor Klearchos Loukopoulos was inspired to make a series of 15 drawings, which DESMOS Art Gallery published in 1973 in a limited lithographic art edition of 150 copies, all signed by the artist.
“With the vision of Greece that no one understands; and yet it is there, like the olive tree, like the rock, like the homecoming – preternatural, ineffable ... a lodestone.”
- George Seferis
These drawings are not prepared for a specific purpose. I followed an old, personal methodology of getting to know the places I travel in the summertime. Only this time I applied it on a much wider scale; yet I would say more complex, more systematic.
These drawings mainly cover the area of the town (chora) of Patmos. With the plasticity and the functional consistency of its architecture, it signified, for me, a very particular locale of attraction.
Decisively, I avoided a descriptive recording system. I think it narrows the boundaries of space. Instead, I tried to explore to a greater extent the forces that function within the objects. Because they justify the operation of their surroundings. And they expand all potentialities. As for my expressive means, they are not unintentionally compressed. I confined myself to a slightly charged, free, line. I wanted to apply the lesson that I had learned from the objects themselves. With an economy of means – to the greatest possible.
Klearchos Loukopoulos
Republished from the Press Release of the exhibition PATMOS: 15 Drawings at Desmos Art
Gallery, Athens.
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