Θαλασσινό Τοπίο

000704 Nikos Yialouris, Seascape, 1981, monotype, 39 × 46 cm

Monotype is a printmaking technique that produces a single, unique artwork—unlike other methods such as woodcut or etching. Printmakers use a hard surface (e.g., a copper plate) to paint a composition, which is then transferred in reverse onto paper. Contemporary artists often use glass. They paint their subject with printing inks, acrylics, or tempera, and then press it onto paper by hand. This is likely the method Yialouris used here to create a seascape. In the foreground, we see the stormy sea. In the back left, the dark mass probably represents a stretch of land, while the sky is rendered as a jumble of strange forms—i.e., clouds. Cold blue colours dominate the composition. In some areas, traces of green, white, and red enliven the painting. Additionally, the artist uses the white of the paper in order to give the composition a sense of openness. His style is free, as colour becomes his primary expressive material. As a result, the work acquires a distinctly expressionistic character.