Paintings full of light and color
The trend for combining painting with other visual arts media may have earned a large artist following, but many painters still prefer to adhere to «pure,» traditional painting both in terms of technique and subject matter. Lena Mouyer is one of them. Mostly a landscape painter, she takes her subject matter from real surroundings, which she observes for hours and in detail, taking notes in the form of drawings before commencing her larger works. A prolific painter, Mouyer started from watercolors in the late 1970s and quickly moved to oil paintings. Recently she has produced large paintings by adapting her subject matter to different proportions and scales. The outcome is presented at her one-woman show opening tonight at the Benetatou Cultural Center in Palaio Psychico. Over 30 works show the artist’s fascination with the rural Greek landscape. Deserted huts in Vouliagmeni, a church on Myconos, a site from Oinouses, Syros port and the Zagorohoria mountains are just a few sites that inspired Mouyer. In her paintings, Lena Mouyer prioritizes the play between color and light. She skillfully depicts the gradations of green that plants take on as color falls on them or the reflections of buildings on the water. Despite her conventional subject matter, Mouyer often takes an unusual approach. She sometimes uses an angle that accentuates the properties of painting like color, form, and line and, in some paintings, comes close to a semi-abstract style. Calming to the mind and pleasant to see, Mouyer’s paintings are filled with the joy of life, color and light. They may not be trendy or claim high originality, but offer an optimistic, bright view of our lives. Benetatou Center (210.674.5135). To Friday.
