KROMA One-Off 002

Driokolaptis

An innovative visual proposal from KROMA

The KROMA Art & Culture Platform continued its art project “KROMA One-Off: One Day Exhibitions”
on Thursday 9th November.

The second KROMA One-Off was an absolute success!
The new Visual Art group “Driokolaptis” composed of engravers Evripidis Papadopetrakis & Pantazis Tselios presented their new project titled “Liber Novus”, and those who were at Romantso on November 9th had once again the chance to celebrate with us another day dedicated to art and creativity and chat with art-lovers, artists, experts on the cultural field and also the two artists who were there to talk about their artwork. The vibe was possitive and the flow of people kept growing all evening.

What was the second KROMA One-Off about?

DRIOKOLAPTIS (E.PAPADOPETRAKIS – P. TSELIOS) just hatched. His main interest is engraving in which he turned due to the lack of trees in the urban landscape. He also enjoys binding and producing all kinds of small prints, always keeping in mind the particular design of each object or work of art, since as a special bird he likes both the old and the new trees. You will see him in exhibitions, creating artwork, all sorts of printed matterials and even organizing seminars. You will hear the pecking of his beak soon …

Driokolaptis’ new exhibition was about Engraving and the Art of the “Authentic” Book as a visual and applied means of expression of the two artists’ language. With reference to the need to promote manual aesthetic values at the same time as the contemporary visual approach in the theoretical and research part, they articulate, propose and comment on issues of existence, science, cohabitation, history and modern social phenomena.

It included art works that cover a wide range of classical printed art and original artwork by the two artists.

A Few Words with Evripidis Papadopetrakis

Euripides, why did you choose engraving?

“I chose engraving because it is a harder and a more “hardcore” art form in these times of ease and of

cunning mind sets, and because one of the first things made by the prehistoric man was carvings on rocks of the dangerous animals to make them known to others and to warn them (similar to what we do today).”

When you are not creating with what materials do you feed your mind, your emotions and your soul?

“For every artist, materials are everything they can think and see. I personally feed my artistic entity with my existential concerns and the splendid anarchic perfection of life. Anything paradoxical and unclear attracts me. I try to feed my soul with clarity.”

A few words with Pantazis Tselios

Pantazi, engraving is probably the least popular, or less “glamorous” than the so-called fine arts, but your course is interwoven with it. How did you fall in love with it?

“I believe that engraving is rather less popular among the general public and perhaps less attractive toartists because, in addition to the theoretical part that always plays a big role in the creation of any artwork, engraving also requires knowledge and manual labor that can be quite painful at times. Something that is not very common now days. In my opinion, this is mainly about the place where we
live and is not something that is understandable of course. I fell in love with engraving as a form of
expression in ASKKT. It was an art form that immediately attracted me. The equally important technical training and theoretical approach along with the imaginatively endless technical world was what most captivated me. It’s an art form that deserves to find its place in today’s world.”

You have also worked a lot with the art of book crafting. What allured you to it?

“I enjoy working with books, more specifically with traditional typography, book binding and the overall printing process. Basically the traditional creation of an authentic book. So far, I’ve been able to make three such small books in a limited number of copies.The art of book crafting for me is what completes the meaning of engraving and gives it a “vital” reason of being, because through it typography was born. It is the way engraving is applied to create a usable object. I also find very interesting the aesthetic effect of an image designed for the needs of such a book.”

Artist Biography

Euripides Papadopetrakis was born in Athens in 1988. He studied painting and engraving at the School of Fine Arts (Α.Σ.Κ.Τ.), graduating in 2015 with an honors degree. He has participated in Artistic Bookbinding Seminars in Greece at M.Leggas workshop. His work consists mainly of engraving, the design and artistic creation of publications, occasionally combining them with other means (painting, three-dimensional images, writing), with experimental tendencies. His main platform of communication with the visual arts is its synergy with other sciences, and he is mainly interested in concepts such as existence, coincidence and the multiplicity of image visibility. In 2013 he was awarded the first prize in the engraving competition ”Carving Athens ” and in 2012, he participating in the “The Art of Binding. From Byzantium to Contemporary Art Creation “, which took place at the Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens (Byzantine and Christian Museum) within the “Studite” project of
the National Hellenic Research Foundation (National Hellenic Research Foundation). In 2014 he took part in the Imago Mundi Art exhibition of the Benetton collection as part of the Greek team that took place in Italy, in 2016 he illustrated with engravings and woodcuts the Hypnos Issue for the Hypnos Project of the Onassis Cultural Foundation Center Athens.He has participated in over 30 group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

Pantazis E. Tselios was born in 1988 in Lamia. He studied painting and engraving at the Athens School of Fine Arts (Α.Σ.Κ.Τ.). He lives and works in Athens. His main occupation is engraving and the artistic creation of publications in general. The thematic axis of his work is mainly influenced from concepts such as life and time through the imagery of symbolic allegories. As a way of expression and tool in his work he uses mainly oxygraphy and woodcarving, two classic techniques of the Art of engraving.