Eirene archolekas

Irene Arholekas, or Eirené, is a writer, artist, and teacher.  Born to Greek parents in South Africa, she has lived and worked across three continents, several European cities, including Athens, Heidelberg, Barcelona, and Jerusalem.  She also facilitates expressive arts workshops based on the ethical and professional practices of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, of which she is a member.  She believes that art can heal, and beauty can save the world. 

Encaustic is her go-to medium as it provides a direct connection to her ancestral past. It assists in uncovering the many fused layers of identity, and its versatility lends well to the sort of psychic archeology inherent in her work.  Its complexity is a function of its multi-sensual nature as well--textural, visual, tactile, olfactory. To center her practice, she begins with inspiration from the natural world.  It is not uncommon to discover many foraged natural materials in her compositions.  She speaks primary through the textures that are possible in encaustic, varying the smooth balanced shiny surfaces with the agonizing textured ones so that the surface of her paintings registers a palpable felt sense.  Through a subtle negotiation between her own will and the medium’s, the work is born. 

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

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