In light of Ioanna Konstantinou’s exhibition, some thoughts stem rather easily as to how the natural surrounding
space is rendered.
Historically speaking, a landscape painting depicts pictures that were presumably imaginative places: there were
truthful elements, along with fantastic ones.
The transition towards a painterly landscaping closer to the reality (a notion that can be understood with a great
deal of relativism) occurred gradually over the last two centuries.
It is clear that Ioanna Konstantinou chooses to paint landscapes that though they could be identifiable, usually,
they are not.
Therefore, we can argue that her compositions are ‘whimsical’ at many levels.
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One level is the colour and its hue: a rendering almost unconventional.
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A second level is the compilation of geographical elements: mountain summits and waves.
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A third level is the degree of coverage: it is more than what an ordinary eye can see.
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A fourth level is the position of the viewer: where he/she stands and from that point what the viewer is able to
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see. An approach very close to a bird’s eye view.
All the above, in conjunction with theacrylic paint applied on linen canvas that has been pasted up with pumice,
so that an earth-like rough surface is created, a technique that Ioanna Konstantinou has adopted, suggest a
sense of a processed representation that we do not see elsewhere. And all these have their value.
Konstantinos Basios
member of A.I.C.A.