Stefanos Rokos
The Two Temples
Solo Exhibition

Duration of the exhibition 7 April – 7 May 2022

Opening: Thursday, 7 April 17.00-21.00

Zoumboulakis Gallery invites you to the new solo exhibition of Stefanos Rokos, entitled “The Two Temples” on Thursday, April 7, 2022. The exhibition will feature mixed media paintings on paper and canvas, two wood engravings, an animation and the book of the same name (Stereoma Publications).

In 2019 – shortly before the start of the pandemic – Stefanos Rokos travelled for ten days to Japan. On the occasion of this trip, he created the series of works that will be presented “miraculously capturing in his work a world of tension and eroticism, suggestive gestures and strong signs, disparate conjunctions and contrasting representations “*.

As Kostas Christopoulos, one of the authors of the book published on the occasion of this series of works, a visual arts curator and assistant professor at the ASFA, notes, Rokos “creates a personal visual ‘diary’ not to reveal something ‘foreign’ to us, something we may never have seen, but to multiply the possible variations of the already familiar and to offer us, in an original and imaginative way, some further expressions of it.

Nothing exists “outside” the world described in his works. Everything is “within” it. Yet this world does not appear to be uniform, indivisible and homogeneous. It retains something paradoxical, a continuum of differences and repetitions. Japan, as described to us by Rokos through his paintings, constitutes such a place. “The Two Temples”, the title of this series of his works, is also understood in this way. One ‘temple’, that of Buddhism, is juxtaposed with another, that of Shintoism.

The colours, shapes, scripts and forms used by Rocos often contrast with each other, creating divergent representations on the same painted surface. Something similar happens with the multiple narratives in it.”

The artist himself writes of this painting series “In my painting the ghosts of Japanese mythology are identified with the ghosts of my mind. Personal stories, moments of inner struggle, and a constant enthusiastic curiosity prevail. I feel that I am becoming, for a moment, part of an immersive culture, and I try to share this chaos with someone who is not there.” [… ] “On that long walk, walking through the two worship sites, I thought about how Shinto and Buddhism coexisted harmoniously around us, taking shape through the particularities, rules and shapes of temples with their extreme opposites; like two people. Even now I find this likening of temples to people interesting. I could be either of these two temples.”

*Excerpt from the PR of “Stereoma” publications, on the occasion of the publication and release of the book “The Two Temples” by Stephanos Rokos, 2022.

Short Artist’s Curriculum Vitae:

Stefanos Rokos was born in Athens in 1977.

From 1995 to 2000 he studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under the tutelage of T. Patraskidis. At the same time he attended engraving classes at the workshop of G. He also worked at the workshop of the artist G. Milios. In 2002 he obtained a Master’s degree in printmaking from the Wimbledon School of Art in London, where he studied with a scholarship from the Propodis Foundation. From 2005 to 2007, he was a recipient of a grant from the ICF for the execution of an art project.

He has held solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. In 2010, he presented the music/art project “Horror & Romance on Another Planet”. In 2019, he approached the album of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds “No More Shall We Part” with the publication of the artist book, as well as three exhibitions of the same name in Athens (Benaki Museum) and Belgium (Bernaerts Gallery). In 2020, he presented the project “10 Years of Horror & Romance” with works and music inspired by the 2010 exhibition.

He has designed album covers of Greek and foreign artists, as well as book covers, posters for concerts, theatre performances and films.

Duration of the exhibition: 7 April – 7 May 2022

7.7.2022-2022, Zoumboulakis Gallery, Pl. 20 Kolonakiou St., Pl.

Opening hours: Tues., Thurs. Pl. 11.00 -20.00

Wed. Thu. 11.00 -15.00

Sunday & Monday closed