Christos Koutsouras puts coastal dark seasons on canvas
‘Accessible To All’ art show opens at Imogen Gallery and Carruthers Building
ASTORIA — Imogen Gallery
announces a two-fold event.
Artist Christos Koutsouras,
who likes to work on a large
scale, has put together a power-
ful body of work for his newest
series, “Accessible To All.” Be-
cause of the magnitude of this
collection, the exhibition will
be shown at two locations: at
Imogen Gallery and in a pop-
up space located in the Car-
ruthers Building at 1198 Com-
mercial St.
All are invited to a preview
party from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday,
Aug. 7 at the Carruthers Build-
ing pop-up space. Then, both
spaces will participate in Asto-
ria’s Second Saturday Art Walk
on Aug. 8 (see page 10).
Born in Greece, Koutsouras
found his way to the lower
banks of the Columbia River
in 2010, in search of a place to
create a series of work for his
second solo exhibition at the
Indianapolis Museum of Con-
temporary Art. His intent was
simple: to stay six months for
an intensive period of paint-
ing, creating a body of work
inspired by the Paci¿c 2cean.
This place of conÀuence took
hold, and, like an anchor
dropped from a freighter, here
Koutsouras remains, still ¿nd-
ing inspiration in the currents
that move land, sea and sky.
“Accessible To All” encom-
passes his visual notes of a
landscape that has profoundly
marked his work.
Submitted photo
“Over the River” by Christos Koutsouras at Imogen Gallery.
Known
internationally
for his use of color to convey
delicate yet dramatic atmo-
spheric conditions, Koutsouras
brings an extensive collection
of large-scale canvases, small
impasto paintings and graph-
ite drawings on wood panel
for his second solo exhibition
at Imogen. Inspiration for this
series comes primarily from
his time spent at Fort Stevens
State Park, with great focus on
the permanence of man-made
structures within the landscape.
Koutsouras’ attention was
captivated by one location of
Fort Stevens, speci¿cally the
parking area near the famed
shipwreck of the Peter Ire-
dale. He visited this location
almost daily for nearly a year,
taking in the ¿rst light of day
or watching daylight slip into
darkness. He studied the sub-
tlety of concentration of light
during winter storms. The dra-
matic unfolding of weather and
dunes surrounded one particu-
lar building, seemingly caught
in an eddy of unseen current.
Local collector Timothy
Dalrymple was invited to write
about the series. “It is here that
the Columbia River collides
with the Paci¿c 2cean, a place
some say of mystery and se-
crets. Local residents and regu-
lar visitors to this historic place
know the bright blues, greens,
and sunny yellow whites of
sands, sea, and the blacks of
the massive South Jetty in
spring and summer,” Dalrym-
ple writes.
“In previous works such
as ‘Remains of The Day’ and
‘Kyma,’ Koutsouras has cap-
tured these seasons through
color. But then there comes
late fall, winter and early
spring, with wild storms,
winds, seas: the dark seasons.
Fog, sheets of rain, Ever-
est-high black clouds domi-
nate these times. Koutsouras’
recent work is his emotional
response to this chaos ex-
pressed in masterful tech-
niTue re¿ned over decades of
hard, tough, thoughtful work.
“These new paintings re-
quire that we look into them not
as carnival-goers at a gallery
opening. We must be collabo-
rative with Koutsouras in na-
ture’s drama. These paintings
demand our engagement. To
appreciate the work we must
do our own work, identify-
ing important images, shapes,
spaces that carry the artist’s
message and meaning.”
Koutsouras’ career has been
as vast as the landscape he por-
trays. His desire to become an
artist was apparent since child-
hood; however, that was not
enough to convince his stone-
mason father it was a viable
career choice. Subsequently,
Koutsouras left his island home
of Samos to become a merchant
marine and travel the world.
He excelled in his chosen pro-
fession and quickly rose to the
rank of 3rd mate on the ship he
called home. Not feeling ful-
¿lled with his life as a seaman,
Koutsouras answered his true
calling, and jumped ship while
in port in Ireland. From there
he made his way to Berlin and
enrolled in art school, tipping
off the beginning of a remark-
able career.
He quickly became rec-
ognized and respected for
his exquisite and subtle use
of color and with that came
commissions to do large-scale
paintings for cathedrals, murals
and other public art. 2ne such
project was a mural at the East
Side Gallery, in Berlin, where
a monument of freedom was
established when the Berlin
Wall came down. There he was
given a 30-foot-long portion of
what remains of the wall to cre-
ate a statement of peace.
Imogen Gallery is located at
240 11th St. For more informa-
tion, call 503-468-0620 or visit
www.imogengallery.com
T he
Illah
ee
A partm ents
5:00 pm
Downtown Astoria
Every month, year ‘round!
First Friday set at museum
Find music, food, activities and movie
ASTORIA — Join the Co-
lumbia River Maritime Mu-
seum during its First Friday
Nights events on the Muse-
um Plaza.
The next First Friday will
feature music, activities, food
and a movie on Friday, Aug. 7.
Listen to live music by
Robin Bacior and friends
beginning at 7 p.m. Find
hands-on activities and
games for all ages, making
this an event for the whole
family.
Enjoy a selection of food
and beverages, served by lo-
cal vendors at a cash-only
food court.
Then gather your lawn
chairs and blankets for a 9
p.m. showing of the movie
“The Guardian.”
First Friday Nights are
free of charge. The Colum-
bia River Maritime Museum
is located at 1792 Marine
Drive.
August
8th
Visit Downtown Astoria on the
2nd Saturday of every month for
art, music, and general merriment!
Presented by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association
Submitted photo
Watch “The Guardian” at First Firday Night.
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Since 1969.
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Astoria, OR 97103
503-325-2280
August 6, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 21