In a statement to the Cyprus News Agency, Marios Tokas' son Kostas explains, among other things, the rationale behind the organisation of the exhibition, which reveals a side of the composer unknown to the general public.
"The idea of this particular exhibition has been running around in our minds for some time, because we realized early on that our father's works of art are small treasures, hiding within them pieces of his soul, his temperament and his spiritual quests," said Kostas Tokas, who stresses that the exhibition presents contemporary hagiographies that follow the ways of the Byzantine tradition without dogmatism. In fact, he reveals that there was a long preparation for the exhibition: "We had to work very hard, together with my brothers and our mother, for at least a year in order to catalogue and classify all the works and organise every last detail of transporting them to Cyprus and exhibiting them to the public."
The family of the great composer does not hide their satisfaction with the success of the exhibition. Kostas Tokas notes that "we feel that the result has vindicated us. The response of the public is touching and gives us strength to continue our efforts to highlight every aspect of Marios Tokas' work and to keep his memory alive. We hope that the Marios Tokas Foundation will play a leading role in the cultural events of Cyprus in the coming years and, without yet being able to announce its forthcoming activities, I can assure you that they will be of an extremely high standard and will place the work of Marios Tokas where it deserves to be."
Kostas Tokas also states that "the creation of a state-of-the-art museum in the Municipality of Ipsona is proceeding at a fast pace and with the partnership of the Marios Tokas Foundation and distinguished scientists (museologists, engineers, architects). There will be exhibited, with the use of the most modern technologies, the most important pieces of Marios Tokas' rich personal archive and his personal items of great historical value such as his first piano and, of course, there will be a permanent exhibition of his artworks." Kostas Tokas concludes by saying that until the museum opens, "people will be able to see some of the works at the Limassol Municipal Gallery, to which our family has decided to donate them at the end of the exhibition."
The identity of the exhibition
The exhibition "Visual Hymns", which presents 61 contemporary hagiographies by music composer Marios Tokas, is extended until January 29, 2022, which he created from the early 1990s until his death (2008) and which, with the care of his wife and children, were transferred from his family home in Pikermi to his hometown of Limassol.
The exhibition, the fruit of the collaboration between the Marios Tokas Foundation and the Limassol Municipality, will take place at the Limassol Municipal Arts Centre "Papadakis Warehouses" from Saturday 18 December 2021.
According to the Foundation's website, art historian Dr. Eleni S. Nikita, who has curated the exhibition, underlines that "Marios Tokas' involvement with painting was the result of an innate, strong need for expression. It is a source and spontaneous artistic creation, an outgrowth of personal experiences and a deep search for communication with the transcendent, which manifests itself in both his artistic and musical legacy, especially in his composition 'Theogenitor Maria'. Although he himself regards his relationship with painting as a completely personal affair, a study of the totality of his work shows that it is part of the context of contemporary artists' attempts at personal communication, a dialogue with Byzantine iconography and the submission of new proposals which, bearing the stamp of idiosyncrasy, suggest a neo-Christian iconography of the divine'.
The exhibition is accompanied by a multi-page luxury catalogue with graphic design by the composer's son, Kostas Tokas.
The exhibition will be open to the public Tuesday to Friday from 10.00 to 18.00, and on Saturday from 10.00 to 14.00.00 and admission is free, stated.
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