The Michael Cacoyannis Foundation is hosting an interesting and different exhibition, “Heracles.  Transcendental Journey” by the artist and actress, Christina Kouloumbi, which is aimed at all age groups.  From Tuesday 12th of July until Sunday 28th of August 2016.  Especially for the opening of the Exhibition, on Tuesday 12th of July 2016, at 20:00, the choreographer and director, Petros Gallias, has added his signature to the event “Heracles”, performed by Christina Kouloumbi, accompanied by Michail Porfyris at the cello and with texts from Euripides’ “The Madness of Heracles”.

 

Christina Kouloumbi is an actress, set designer, costume designer and an artist.  At her Exhibition “Heracles.  Transcendental Journey”, she will be presenting aquarelles, sketches and studies that she has done in connection with her collaboration with Karmen Rouggeri, as set and costume designer for the staging of “Labours of Hercules”.  Concurrently, the exhibition, as an autonomous event, is also connected to and heralds the new performances of “Labours of Hercules”  which are to be presented in November 2016 at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, directed by K. Rouggeri with Set and Costume design by Christina Kouloumbi.

 

The works of the exhibition are the result of a ten year cycle occupied by the Mythology of Heracles, its core and its extensions as well as the various published works surrounding it and the way in which all of this was perceived by the artist.

The years of studies and trials which went into the approach to the set and costume design for Karmen Rouggeri’s performances have been preserved in this personal collection, which will be exhibited at the MCF. The simplicity, the “cleanness” and the transparency of aquarelle – Christina’s trademark  – bring forth light and clarity to the complexity of mythology.  A clean, artistic approach which does not attempt to simplify the contradictions of the mythological figure but to shed light upon them so that they may intrigue young imagination.

The laborious task of merging the adult world with the human need for simplicity and visible signs is well written into the artistic and spiritual course of Christina Kouloumbi, who, with this collection, offers the opportunity to people to discover her other artistic side and also the methodology behind it.