CULTURE

Artist gives own stamp to new postal series

Hellenic Post (ELTA) has launched its new series of stamps, designed by acclaimed Greek artist Alekos Fasianos. Titled «Victors,» the series bears the artist’s trademark figures in new stylistic combinations. Earlier this year, Fasianos held an extensive exhibition of his «Victors» series on canvas at the Museum of Cycladic Art, leading ELTA to consider the theme for its Olympic Philatelic Program. «I drew a series of stamps for ELTA to tie in with the Olympic Games of 2004,» said Fasianos. «I wanted to reflect the spirit of sport and victory, not just in the antiquity, but in modern Greece as well. Thus, I created five victors; modern Greeks wearing the olive wreath and gazing modestly into the future. I used earthy colors – red, green and sky blue – so the viewer has a sense of being in touch with nature. I also wanted to show that I was creating something new and personal that bore no resemblance to past works,» he added. Fasianos’s «Victors» series for ELTA is the fourth in its initiative to have stamps designed by established artists. The previous three are «Olympic Games 2004» by Giorgos Varlamos, the «Europa» series with Dimitris Mytaras’s «Circus» sequence, and Takis Katsoulidis’s «Greek Language» series. ELTA started this new policy two years ago in view of 2004 and in order to attract foreign collectors. So far, the experiment appears to have been a success, with an increasing number of orders from abroad and a widening interest from philatelists surfing the web. Furthermore, the postal service has begun promoting the training of graphic artists specialized in philatelic design. ELTA recently also launched a new carnet for the «Olympic Games 2004.» Based on the theme of the Zappeion Gardens, it was designed by one of ELTA’s permanent designers, Myrsini Vardopoulou.

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