Third Pan-Cretan Fine Arts Exhibition (1975)

Antonios Pavlakis participated in the Third Pan-Cretan Fine Arts Exhibition, organised by the “O Chrysostomos” Literary Association of Chania in Chania, from 12 to 30 October 1975.

At the exhibition, he presented three sculptural studies of the human form: two standing male figures and one seated male figure.

As he notes in relation to his approach to the artistic representation of the human being:

“Beauty, nature’s unique and magnificent creation, stands apart from all dogmatism, aesthetic systems, political and social systems, and social constructs of every kind.

Beauty in ART, then, stands above all else. It becomes an awareness and a spiritual possession for those whom the relentless ‘routine’ of modern life has still left untainted, unprejudiced and at peace…

Every artist must love their mission passionately, rather than their own works. The true artist always expresses their thoughts with sincerity, even at the risk of overturning all established values.

Just as the Parthenon rises triumphantly to express the beauty and strength of the human spirit, so artists in our lives must be as simple as the Parthenon’s construction. Yet that simplicity must be suffused with spirit, a clear mind and a luminous soul, so that works filled with grandeur and beauty may be created.

The artist is a vessel filled with emotions that come from everywhere. They must discover the beauty of the world and, through their work, transform matter into form.

Art and Nature, then, in their broadest sense, must always coexist. Nature, as the essence of reality, whether a tree, a landscape or a human being, moves and fascinates me. Its boundless beauty and its serene, harmonious structure sustain my artistic feeling and my restless search for a more perfect form of art.”