About Manolis Stratakis
Style
Manolis adopts a heretic, inquiring, questioning and experimental approach to painting and art in general. He is performing a lot of research in order to understand how different types of colours interact, how they behave under several forms of processing, modification, adaptation, conversion, or under certain extreme conditions.
Influence
Influenced by some of the great masters like Rene Magritte, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Salvatore Dali, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Paul Klee and JMW Turner, he is evolving with his own recognisable style.
Innovation
Determined to contribute something new to art he is implementing innovative projects like the “active” paintings which constantly change their colours creating a sense of motion and a plethora of emotions. These paintings provide an alternative viewing experience with enhanced depth and complexity.
Motivation
Manolis is fascinated with life, art, science, technology, culture, music, harmony, big unsolved problems, maths, puzzles, chess, logic, intelligence, fun, humour, space, deep, macrocosm and microcosm, atoms, humans, animals, nature, brain, memory and all sorts of progress, creativity, innovation, research and any kind of invention! He enjoys funny, strange, paradoxical, mathematical, geometrical, logical themes, encrypted messages, games, puzzles and any elegant solution to a tough problem.
Dora Trogadi, GNA-GMFA
“Visual artist Manolis Stratakis redefines painting by exploring the boundaries of dimension, movement and light. His alternative approach, “Active Painting”, consists of works of art that progressively change right in front of the viewer’s eyes. Parts of the painting pop-up while others disappear, creating a plethora of emotions. Inspired by abstraction, optical art and conceptualism, Stratakis brings together a unique fusion of media aiming at enhancing the viewer’s perceptual experience.
The crucial element in Stratakis’ art is the innovative use of a projector as a powerful tool essentially proving that visual reality is an ever-changing, highly individualized experience. In any given moment, his vibrant compositions not only take different forms but also convey a different inner state for the viewer, highlighting the dynamic nature and hidden complexities in life and art. Reflecting his inquisitive approach, active painting encourages the viewer to fully embrace the present without getting entangled while indulging in the dynamic energy of change.”
George Orfanidis, Art Historian and Curator
“Manolis Stratakis is not a conventional painter. He is a restless artist who follows the reasoning approach of post-post-modernism, disrupting the artificial boundaries of previous artistic trends. His studies in computer science allow him to process any geometric symbols in an algorithmic way, without the need to delve into the heavy - to a certain extent outdated today - modernist load that geometricism concealed in its birth. His canvases are transmuted into reservoirs of alternating emotions visualized through the psychodynamic symbolism of alternating colours.
Manolis Stratakis - through his painting - proves that technology can co-exist with art beyond style or beautification issues. Technology follows art in revealing the most intimate thoughts and mnemonic records that every person who produces art carries, even if this happens unconsciously" - Georgios Orphanidis, Art Historian, Curator of Exhibitions ”
Main Exhibitions
“Beyond Colour”
An Active Paintings modern art exhibition in the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, Crete, 2024.
Under the Surface - short version
An Active Paintings modern art exhibition in Chania, Crete, 2021.
Under the Surface - full version
An Active Paintings modern art exhibition in Chania, Crete, 2021.