Description
Artist/Maker: Vasilios Roumeliotis (b. 1977) / Roumelight
Object/Materials and Techniques: Perforated Metal Canvas
Date: Created in 2017
Dimensions: H. 75 cm. x D. 4 cm. x W. 75 cm.
Colours: Deep Pink (currently in stock)
Art style: Light art / Luminism / Lighting sculpture
Current Location: Artist’s collection, Athens
Curator’s note: A homage to the ultimate celebrity of Art History that turned herself into a powerful brand: Mona Lisa / La Gioconda.
The best-known archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance painted by Leonardo da Vinci, in 1503, constitutes globally one of the most communicated work of art of all times.
Mona Lisa has been developed into a readymade icon that grows more and more legendary over the years being re-imagined and recreated by a plethora of creatives of different styles, among whom, by one of the most brilliant artists of the 20th century, Andy Warhol.
Reacting not only to the painting portrait itself but to the reputation and power of her image and appeal, in Pop Art style infused with duplications, Andy Warhol reinvented her renowned visage in becoming the most iconic modern day masterpiece. He created his own Pop rendition of the Renaissance masterwork and then, through his celebrated series of multi-coloured reproduced canvasses, he succeeded in verifying that high art can be easily linked to popular and consumer culture, plus commoditized and dispersed through mass media in the same way as a Campbell’s soup can or a Brillo box does.
In this sense, inspired by the ultimate Pop icon as introduced by Andy Warhol, Vasilios Roumeliotis chooses to incorporate the famous artwork in his ingenious lighting art creations baring the aesthetic signature of Roumelight brand.
The lighting installation that delivers Mona Lisa’s portrait features a metal canvas perforated by more than 3,500 holes.
Capitalizing on the interplay of light and shades that adds highly on the mystery that enshrouds Mona Lisa’s figure, throughout the centuries, Vasilios Roumeliotis makes use of the advantages of contemporary light art in order to put emphasis on her most legendary characteristics: the enigma of her smile and the covert arcanum in her eyes.
Additionally, he succeeds in revealing the famous image resourcefully within the medium of light expression signifying at the comparable painterly effects of sfumato and chiaroscuro, as employed by Leonardo da Vinci and masterfully reproduced later by Andy Warhol through his unique silk-screening and polished technique.
Mona Lisa from the Roumelight lighting collection may be displayed as a standalone piece or as a set of 4 altered coloured iterations, and more, based on Andy Warhol’s Pop art style and presentation, highlighting on the pervasive nature of one of the most reproduced painting images in modern society: the ‘luminous’ Mona Lisa.
Installation notes:
- Mona Lisa by Roumelight may be fashioned in a variety of dimensions, lighting modes, plus metal and canvas colorations. Each one produces a different aesthetic effect to suit several moods and settings.
- Technical support for assembling or hanging the lighting work is recommended.
- Instructions by the artist may be provided.
