Special Information for the Artist
Born in Greece, Maria Xagorari was raised in the bright light of the Aegean Sea. Her love for the arts begun at an early age at the house of her grandfather, a poet and an art lover. In her early teens she had already decided that art was a one way street for her.
In 1994 she was accepted at the Faculty of Fine Art in Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, where she studied painting for five years, under professor Vangelis Dimitreas. After a period of teaching at the Graphic Design and Interior Decoration School of Dimitrelis Educational Group in Thessaloniki, she returned to her origin, the island of Syros, to dedicate to her painting.
Her subject matter has always been man and light. The first years after graduation she produced a number of self portraitss and portraits of friends, focusing on the expressive power of the gaze. As her art was maturing she became interested in a more universal approach of the human condition and she turned to life size human figures, posing under the Greek sun, telling their own stories of emotions. Her pictorial space is shallow, with her figures in primo piano like the alto-relievo of the ancient Greek sculpture. The bright light and pure color in her painting relate to her loved Aegean sea and landscapes.
Maria Xagorari currently lives and works in Syros, Greece. Her work has been shown in numerous shows in Greece and Italy. Her paintings are found in private collections and the permanent collection of the Municipal Gallery of Ermoupolis.
