The last weekend of November saw Thessaloniki taking a leading role in the contemporary art market all around Balkans. The city has in fact hosted the 2nd International Contemporary Art Fair in the pavilions of International Exhibition center (HELEXPO), attracting visitors from all around Greece and also neighboring countries.
The expo was not just about visual arts, but also music and virtual reality. Actually while walking through the works of art you could have suddenly listened to a piece of La Bohème or Nessun dorma impressively sung by the one that you supposed to be your fellow in the queue for coffee. The effect was amazing for sure, helping to create the right atmosphere to dive into the paintings all around. The virtual reality as well gave its touch of class to make more special what otherwise would have been just an art gallery.
In fact it was sufficient to put on a mask to step into Van Goghs’ Night Café painting, walking around the tables, the billiard, and the characters depicted by the Dutch artist.
Coming to the point, the majority of the artworks exposed came from Balkan artists, with Greece, Turkey and Albania as the most represented countries. Among these there were also some painters from other European countries, as for example the French Patrick Rubistein very appreciated from the public of the fair. His kinetic colorful pop art mixes vintage celebrities, cartoons, and famous artworks from the past making the visitors moving from the left to the right to see the effects of his paintings with Brigitte Bardot’s face turning into the word love.
So interaction seemed to be the attitude that people loved the most in the event.
The art objects are not just substance to be admired. But also the basis from whom everybody can take his own inspiration to imagine, travel and dream.
