VANGELIS RINAS

Having been born and raised on the Greek islands of Samos and Ikaria respectively, the renowned contemporary artist Vangelis Rinas (b. 1966) draws on key elements of his homeland in his instantly recognizable paintings and sculptures, from its bright, white light, the Aegean Sea that edges its shores, the familiar rocks he played on as a boy and its hallmark fishing boats.

Rinas studied both painting and engraving at the Athens School of Fine Arts, graduating in 1991. He continues to live and work in the city today, dividing his time between the Greek capital, China and New York, US, where he has held several high-profile exhibitions.

While his paintings have a wistful and nostalgic feel to them, they are also undoubtedly of the moment, combining the artist’s memories and recollections of places that are dear to him with his current passions, concerns and perceptions. Dynamic and multi-faceted, his artworks are forces of nature, brimming with energy and combining the earthly with the metaphysical.

His concerns about the direction in which the world is heading and, as he terms it, the impending “monster of new atrocious totalitarianism”, prompts Rinas to seek refuge and shelter in the reassuring and solid rocks of his childhood. Here, time stands still, although the light, which is a key element of his work, serves as a reminder that the comforting hiatus is only temporary.

Rinas’s choice of contrasting media and tools is also fascinating, ranging from bold-coloured oil on canvas for his paintings to wood for a famous, huge-scale model of a fishing boat. Another favourite medium is the fine-grained, calcitic marble, sourced from the quarries at Penteli north of Athens. From this white mineral, known for its slightly golden hue, Rinas creates a diverse range of sculptures, ranging from haunting facial profiles and delightful musical boats to weighty, symbolic declarations of love.

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