Archaic fragments

As an artist, Marius Melissas is one to abstract expression. Beyond ordinary, tangible reality, he sees more: a continuous, universal flow of change whereby “source energy” seeks to manifest as Nature. For him, before an object is able to function in the right way, or before energy may become physical nature, the creative force must go through a process of partial destruction, adaptation and reconfiguration in order to be whole and real. Similarly, Melissas attempts time and again to bend and to recast in his mind’s eye what he sees until, for him, it makes sense. He applies the same principle to the materials he uses: entirely based on biodegradable ingedients, Melissas creates his own paints through experimentation or adapts known ones to a sustainable alternative. The natural element in his materials, in his intuitive, free-flow style of painting and in his vision of the universe, is to him one and the same. Detached from interpretation of his own paintings, Melissas’ work asks us to forego conceptual or cultural meanings and to forget that art should have a specific goal or idea: it asks us to feel.

For Marius, abstract art is the purest, rawest expression of Nature; it is something to experience directly, intuitively and without thought. If Nature is a physical manifestation of life energy, the artist is abstracting it in his mind’s eye, bending and recasting it as he feels. Drawing inspiration from prehistoric depictions and symbols, the 10 paintings here shown seem ancient, mysterious, and long-forgotten, as though they were objects fished up from a sunken ship on the seabed,  fragments of an old temple wall, decaying remnants of abandoned shrines…

While the meaning of ancient symbols may be lost on us today, Marius believes their spirit isn’t. Made from biological substances and through fusing techniques old and new, these ‘relics’ are affirmations of Marius’ faith, that in the future man can live in greater harmony with his environment, and that art, a language we all speak, can show us how.