Part V

Caras shows us his encounters with history, in the past and the present, in his "Head of an Ancient God", from 1988 and his "Man in the Air" from 1990. These are endeavors where the plastic values and the antithetical colors as well as the purely symbolic dimensions of his motifs are more lucidly stressed. An unstructured composition in combination with idealistic forms are the elements which introduce us to the expressive content of the former; monumentalization and descriptive characteristics suggest the content of the latter. The slanted rendering of the head in the former, with the cool colors and the indefinite space is not limited to simply illustrating but rather to clearly expressing the entire content of this poetry. Just as the chain, the number beneath it and the face without any personal characteristics, again in combination with an unstructured organization, express the entire character of the latter's motif. It is not so much the descriptive elements but more the character of the space itself, in both of these efforts, which heighten the dramatic voice of the works. The past through the head of an ancient god and the present through a chain, a number and a head lend a critical flavor and an emphasis on pure painting values showing the personal encounters and the way the artist interprets the past and the present. And one cannot help but notice the quality of the design and the inwardness and the expressive power of the color, which bring his aims to completion. The work "Fall of Idols" from 1989 is moved by the same spirit, with the same unstructured organization, the emphasis on cool colors and the combination of vertical, horizontal and curved motifs.

We are transported to a more lyrical and poetic climate in works like "Round Vase with Flowers", "The Fruit of our Labor" from 1989 and "The Eagle" from 1990. "Round Vase with Flowers" is a combination of descriptive and abstract elements which lay before us the content of the motif and the freedom of his brushstroke. Indeed, in this case, figurative and abstract elements are brilliantly balanced to provide a whole which is distinguished by the inwardness of the color and the pure, poetic content of the whole. In "The Fruits of our Labor" we have, in essence, an analogous morphoplastic vocabulary with the fruit on one side and the problematic and rather free motifs of the other, all intensified through the incredible combination of warm and cool colors. Thus, we have a whole in which the exceptional design is combined with an emphasis on pure painting values, complementing his poetic voice. In "The Eagle" the painting surface gains an extraordinarily rich extension of dimension through the particular stress placed on schematization, the slanted organization and the warmer, orange colors. Here, as in the other endeavors of Caras, one can affirm his astounding ability to render the definitive elements of his motif without being limited to the external, descriptive values, but allowing his internal content and the character of the painting values to show through.

The artist presents us with another of his encounters with the past in "The Philosopher's Head" from 1989 and "Column Capital with Vase and Leaves" from 1990. These are two works which are also distinguished for the brilliant combination of descriptive and abstract forms outside the emphasis on the various colors, the cooler ones in the former and the warmer ones in the latter. In "The Philosopher's Head", which is also slanted, Caras is asking questions to which there are no answers; this is a kind of alienation or estrangement which is stressed by all the elements on the painting surface. In "Column Capital with Vase and Leaves" a tempestuous and heavily stressed expressionistic passion sets the tone. The column capital is slightly tilted as if it were struggling to stay in place, the leaves in the vase refer to life and the expressionistic red colors assault the grey: the entire painting surface seems to be shaken by inner forces. More important than the descriptive elements is the composition and the expressive force of the colors which enhance the work with an exceptionally rich, expressive voice. The purely poetic character of Caras' work can be found most clearly in works such as "Summer Silence" from 1989 and the "Report on Another Poetry" from 1991. In "Summer Silence" the vase with leaves is outside the design and the inwardness and the poetic voice of the color, through the gradations of yellow, express in themselves the special content of the motif. Through the passage from the orange on the first level to the bit of grey vase and the combination of the shades of yellow and grey on the second, a whole has been formed which expresses to the viewer the selfsame character of a summer afternoon. In "Report on Another Poetry", Caras again combines figurative and abstract elements producing a marvelous whole in which the life force is expressed. To the expressionistic passion of his abstract forms is juxtaposed the simple vase with its flowers and the verticalness of the vase is juxtaposed to the diagonal elements welded together in a combination of logic and feeling, mind and heart, elements of design and chromatic values. This is a combination which without a doubt make beauty and truth principles of life as well as elements of Caras' poetry.

Through elements of the real and the imaginary - abstraction - this genuine creator manages to provide us with works which are distinguished for the inwardness of their expressive force. The realistic detail, familiar from his previous efforts, acquires a new character in the works of this latest period and in combination with his abstract formulations, enhances through new expressive extensions his painting language. Now we note the ever growing application of color to the form, of the interior to the exterior, of the poetic to the real. This is robust and engrossing painting which is vibrating with inner forces and is distinguished for the lucidity of the composition, the inwardness and the wealth of color and the definitive role of pure, painting values. Through his new efforts, Caras' paintings from the past few years carry on his quest, re-vitalize his accomplishments and enrich his morphological vocabulary. Always faithful to himself, this highly endowed creator has arrived at personal formulations which stand out for the eloquence of their composition and the immediacy of their style: they show the expressive wealth and the quality of all he has conquered.

Athens, September 1991

Chrysanthos Christou
Professor of the History of Art
at the University of Athens - Academician

1. E. Ferentinou, Christos Caras, Athens 1976, p. 6 (in Greek).
2. Op. cit.
3. Em. Mavrommatis, Christos Caras, Athens 1982, p. 13 (in Greek)
4. Op. cit.