Fougaro Art Center welcomes an exhibition dedicated to the work of David Webber, a self-taught folk artist with Greek citizenship, who lives and works in Spetses island. The exhibition includes paintings on canvas and wood, as well as objects and constructions with the artist's characteristic idiom, where intense color, elements of nature and folk motifs coexist and intertwine with imagination and rhythm, as they often float or dance in a universe of their own...
Born in Britain, David Webber has been living in Spetses since 1973. His home and studio in an old mansion on the island is home to his unique world. This bustling and colourful universe consists of books, magazines, tools, boxes of paint, brushes, photographs and photocopies, fabrics, small furniture, folk art mixed with his own works and constructions, but above all all kinds of objects, stoically waiting for a chance for a second life from Webber's hands. To anyone who simply sees an old handle, David smiles disarmingly and responds with his motto "don't look at what is, but what can be", pointing to a scepter, where a corresponding handle is the head of a king, wearing his crown askew.
His autobiographical world is reflected in his vivid works. There live harmonious pomegranates, radiating color, active fish, angels in Greek costumes, animated ships, heroes of the Greek revolution, dense foliage and rushing birds. Everything for David Webber has its own symbolism and meaning, derived from the Greek tradition, but creatively meets the simple grandeur of Byzantine art, the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement of his homeland and motifs of ancient art.
Exhibition Opening
Saturday, March 23rd 2024, 17:00 to 19:30
David Webber
He was born in Scotland in 1942, of a Welsh mother and a British father. Shortly after his birth the family left for London, where, following his parents' divorce, David grew up with his mother in the difficult neighbourhood of Elephant and Castle. He started working while still at school, which he left at the age of 14 to work full-time.
By the age of 19 he knew he had to leave the country. So he joined the British Army and in 1962 he was posted to Cyprus. Once there, he realised he would never return to England. In Cyprus he met his Greek wife, they married and returned together to Athens, where they lived for the first few years.
He always had an instinct for the arts, but his real interest was sparked by his wife's family's love of folk art, which is now the basis of his work. In 1973 they opened a shop together in Spetses island, where David began making beaded jewelry. Around 1984 he began, at the urging of friends, to paint boats on old Spetses doors. His work began to spark interest and so he let his imagination run wild, moving on from boats to more motifs. A few years later, a friend gave him some white crates and that's how he started painting on canvas.
His first exhibition was held in Athens, at "Panorama", in 1996. He has held several exhibitions in Spetses, two exhibitions in Nafplio, while in 2001 he presented his painting at the Melina Mercouri Art Gallery in Hydra, and in 2003 at the Beerman Gallery in Kranidi of Argolis.
Curators
Florica P. Kyriakopoulou
Antonis I. Kontroyiannis
Duration of exhibition
March to September 2024
Place - Visiting hours
Fougaro Art Center, 98 Asklipiou Ave., Nafplio Greece - Tuesday to Sunday, starting 12:00 noon.
Entrance
Free
Information
Τ. +30 27520 47300 | +30 210 8070523
Sales info.: T. +30 6951 672 053
Ε. art@fougaro.gr
Did you know that?
At the Fougaro Café-Bistrot you can enjoy light dishes of Mediterranean cuisine, coffee, sweets and drinks.
There is a large parking lot available, also with a supply for charging your electric car!
