“The Alexandria Quartet”
painted by Andreas Georgiadis
based on the novel by L. Durrell
23-30 October
AMIR TAZ PALLACE- CAIRO
Opening: Thursday 23 October 2014, 7.30p.m.
Press Release
The Greek Cultural Centre in Cairo, the Cultural Development Fund and the State for Foreign Cultural Relations of the Ministry of Culture of Egypt present an exhibition by artist Andreas Georgiadis entitled “The Alexandria Quartet” based on the novel by Lawrence Durrell. The opening will be on Thursday 18th October at Amir Taz Palace,at 19.30′ . The exhibition is under the auspice of the Greek Embassy in Cairo and it is also part of the celebrations to mark the 12th anniversary of the Opening of the Library.The inclusion of this exhibition in the schedule of events of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a major distinction for the Greek artist.
At the same time, the visitors will be able to visit the Museum of Amir Taz Pallace and after the opening will follow the performance <Sufi Chanting by “Al Mawlaweya al Masreya”>
Andreas Georgiadis, engrossed by Alexandria’s unique atmosphere and by the outstanding novel / outpouring by the British author, creates a visual arts account of moments, impressions and reminiscences, combining the real with the imaginary, the past with the presence, the literal with the metaphorical.
After methodically researching a wealth of archival material, the artist recreates the 1940s era through his art, lingering on city landmarks that the author describes in the Quartet: theatres, cafés, beaches, restaurants, streets, squares, hotels, barber shops, houses, ports, railway stations, as well as snapshots of the leading figures in the novels.
The Cecil Hotel, the Delices pastry shop, the Pastroudis café, Baudrot, the railway station, the western port, Rue Fouad, Rue des Soeurs, the Greek quarter, the Mohammed Ali Square, Police headquarters, the Al Attarine mosque, the vila Ambron -the house where Durrell lived in Alexandria-, the Arab quarter and, of course, the immense Corniche, all feature in the works in the exhibition, witnesses to the history of Alexandria during World War II, while simultaneously constituting a subjective people-based geography.
Through the 35 works in this group, all ink on paper, A. Georgiadis creates a fragile poetic environment, dotted with multiple readings, full of interchanges between what is real and what is imaginary.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Andreas Georgiadis was born in Thessaloniki in 1972. He has had seven solo exhibitions and has taken part in many major group exhibitions, both in Greece and overseas. His work hangs in major public and private collections. He has illustrated books and designed record covers. He belongs to the art group of Mikri Arktos.
