Eirene Archolekas Fine Art 

Eirene Arholekas

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa; lived in Athens, Greece; Barcelona, Spain; Kaiserslautern, Germany; Jerusalem, Israel

Lives & works in Long Island City/Astoria, NY

Art helps me process the paradox, emotional malaise and contradiction in my personal life as well as the world around me.  It acts as a symbolic manifestation of my personal landscapes, shifting lights and mostly about the shadows and the chiaroscuros.    Art keeps me sane. It helps me make sense of what I feel.  Ultimately, it helps me heal.  The act of creation becomes a triumph over despair, a tool for healing, and living proof that beauty can save the world.   

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My art is informed by my Hellenic identity and classic forms and symbols.  I find myself rediscovering myths in postmodern ways.  Using symbols in both a personal and universal way, my work delves into the core conflicts in the universal psyche.  As such it is slightly surreal.  As I am also a poet and writer, text figures prominently into it. Sometimes I embed entire poems into the pieces.  As a feminist, my pieces feature feminine forms, not as passive objects of the eye but powerful dramatis personae. I am inspired by natural landscapes, especially pristine and rugged ones.  As a photographer I am obsessed with capturing light across the day.  

My energy spans across genres to include landscape, collage, encaustic painting, and original photography and print, including monoprint. I love to refashion garbage and recycled materials in collage as the act of recycling speaks to my idea of the salvaging power of art—taking what is discarded, un-useful, unwanted, disgusting and revisioning it to make it valuable, beautiful, functional and aesthetically pleasing.   I am drawn to dramatic textures and storytelling.  Because I believe art should be multi-modal, I include audio in some pieces and paint with spices and herbs to appeal to more than one sense in a piece. 

Encaustic is particularly endearing for me because it connects me to my ancestral past. It assists in uncovering the many fused layers of my identity. As a member of the Hellenic Diaspora raised on three continents and having lived in five cities and countries, the technique captures the many layers of complexity in living. Its complexity is a function of its multi-sensual nature as well--textural, visual, tactile, olfactory.