Hotel Tharroe of Mykonos to exhibit marble sculptures by American artist Andrew Wielawski. Sculptor Andrew Wielawski has brought several monumental scale marble sculptures to Mykonos from his studio in Italy, one of which he completed by the side of the hotel’s swimming pool, to the surprise of the guests. The title of the exhibit, the ‘Minotaur of Mykonos’ comes from this piece. Wielawski was born in New York in 1955 of immigrant parents, and moved to Italy in 1980. He set up a marble carving studio there, where he trained as apprentices gifted students sent to him by Syracuse University, Cleveland Institute of Art, and the Fulbright Program, among others. He has lectured at the Royal Academy in London and other universities throughout Europe and the United States on the economic survival of artists and techniques of stone carving. He was a consultant to Professor James Beck for his criticism of several restorations of Renaissance statues in which Beck, supported by Wielawski, claimed patinas intentionally left by the artists were removed by restorers. Andrew Wielawski has been a Premiere Portfolio Artist at absolutearts.com since 2003.
His works are in the permanent collections of Mastercard, Gewiss Spa, Alabama Power, Helmut Jahn, Andrea Bocelli, and Roger Moore, among others, and have been sold throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia.
The Hotel Tharroe sits atop a hill overlooking Mykonos Town. During the construction of the building, a Mycenaean tomb, or ‘tholo’, was discovered, and further excavation was immediately halted by the owners. They contacted the Hellenic Cultural authorities, and saved the ‘tholo’.
Personally managing their five star hotel, they are passionate not only about Greece’s archaeological heritage, but also about the arts. Many original artworks by known artists decorate not only the individual rooms and suites of the hotel, but the public areas as well.
Last year, having known about Wielawski’s works for years, the artist was invited to Mykonos to become the hotel’s ‘sculptor in residence’, a position usually only afforded by universities of significant size and status. He was given a studio on the premises.
The exhibit will be Wielawski’s first one man show.
‘It takes so long to produce just one life size figure that I almost never have more than one to exhibit. Thanks to the hotel, now I do.’
Wielawski will also exhibit a number of smaller sculptures and drawings. The exhibit opens September 20th and will run until the 30th of October. Music for the opening ceremony will be by classical guitarist Dror Orgad of Ljubljana.
View more of Andrew Wielawski's work can be seen in his POrtfolio at absolutearts.com http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/e/elaniii/
IMAGE
Andrew Wielawski
Title: Minotauress (detail)
Year Created: 2008
Medium: Sculpture Stone
Width: 2 m
Height: 1.1 m
Depth: 1.3 m
Price: US$ 125,000
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