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The exhibition in Benaki Museum – 2017
Her multicolored creations, which are mainly made of porcelain and stoneware, are tightly linked to the visual reality and the infinite sea world. Her three-dimensional ceramic “Fish” as well as her compelling “Sea Urchins” are transferring the viewers to the enchantment of the seabed’s silence. Meanwhile, the sensation of eternal life awakens from the delicate fish installations. Her overall work manifests an enhanced sense of texture and color, intensity and passion, which expresses the splendor and the joy of life.
George Manginis, Member of the Executive Committee of Benaki Museum, writes:
One of my youth’s most intense moments occurred as I was leaning outside a boat glancing upon the shallows under the vertical rays of an unforgiving sun. The volumes of rocks, pebbles, plants and small creatures emerged outlined against a monochromatic dark blue like a pencil drawing on pigmented paper; an austere beauty. The boat glided under a stone roof, entered a sea cave into which several openings diffused oblique light. The modest drawing was transformed into a vibrant watercolor painting; saturated colors jostled theatrically and the quiet breathing of life and waves in solid blue became a salvo of yellows, pinks and deep reds. An accident of light unlocked the enchantment of the sea.
The art of pottery requires much more than an accident to negotiate color in an equally vibrant fashion. The rosy scales, purple tails and yellow trails in Maritsa Travlos’ water garden come after years of quiet experimentation and effort; they are preceded by multiple dry runs, testing sophisticated techniques and demanding materials. The discipline required to tame translucent porcelain and rigid stoneware, the high firing temperatures and the adept sculpting, all surrender in these works to a sudden moment of jubilation, to a perpetual celebration of color unlocked in a sea cave.
On behalf of the Benaki Museum Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, I would like to congratulate the artist Maritsa Travlos and to thank most deeply the exhibition’s curator, Takis Mavrotas, for making this jubilant show possible.
George Manginis
Member of the Executive Committee
Benaki Museum
