2005 BRUNO SCORSONELLI

On Maria Kompatsiari’s semantics of colour

Introspection and a continuous research for innovative forms of expression are the main characterizing elements of Maria Kompatsiari’s approach to painting. The artist never indulges in a merely ecstatic and detached contemplation of reality; on the contrary, the complexity of those problems -which are related to the contradictory and uncertain world in which we happen to live- clearly stand out in Maria Kompotsiari’s works. It is precisely through such a complexe scene that a very original reflection is developed on the ideas of being and becoming. The notion of reality as dialectics is on the basis of how the artist conveys her emotions ie through a graphic interwave of evocative images.

The linearity of the sign contrasts with the intensity of the colours which become pure energy and create dynamism. In Maria Kompatsiari’s work, the present time, which is recalled by quite a few allusions to the domains of communication and informatics, flows into a symbology which evokes worlds and civilizations of the past times.

To a certain extent, such a dichotomy can be interpreted as a sort of discomfort of the artist in relation to some phenomena of modern life, namely the obsessive flowing of information, the incessant pressure of advertisements and a whirling of war bulletins and catastrophes, as much as Maria Kompatsiari’s fear of the uncertainties of the future. On the other hand, however, in the attempt to reject such scenarios, a desire for soaring and immersion into an archaic world is clearly proposed –an archaic world where the soul may find spaces still untouched by conflicts of any sort.

Within such an interpretative approach, Maria Kalamatsiari’s works can be seen as a pilgrimage along the path of memories and as descriptions of moods which inevitably drug the audience into a whirl of emotional stimulus.
Maria Kompatsiari’s work on introspection is mainly achieved through the use of colour. Different chromatic gradations play a major part in the desire of the artist to move away from the real word and to flow off towards a parallel world- a fantastic one, a strong and at the same time suggestive impact for the eye of the spectator.

Throughout the artist’s spiritual journey, the creative path broadens up, but leaves room to the spectator for reflection and imagination; in some of Maria Kompatsiari’s works it seems to me to sense messages of piece and hope for a better future for the humanity.

Bruno Scorsonelli
Art annotator
ROMA 2005