“And so, we ended up sailing in the same waters, Dad!” Daughter Gina Papadopoulou and dad Christos Papadopoulos meet for the first time in their joint painting exhibition “In the same waters”, on their home island of Poros, between 6^th and 16^th of August 2022. The exhibition will be hosted in the Syggrou Building and will be open to the public from 7pm to 11pm daily.  

The dad

Christos Papadopoulos was born in Poros, which has been his permanent residence for the last 30 years approximately. A self-taught painter with huge natural talent, he was actively involved in the art world with great success for about 25 years, in Greece and especially abroad. His works, which, apart from paintings, include mosaics, tapestries, macrame, bronze and copper statues, and icons, have decorated large Hilton and Sheraton hotels in Europe and Greece, cruise ships and three royal palaces in Iran, Jordan and Morocco. After his 25 yearlong international successful career, he settled down in his birthplace of Poros, where he still lives, in order to offer his artistic experience to the island. He created the island’s escutcheon and adorned many of Poros’ shops with unique and excellent paintings, contributing to the elevation of the island’s general aesthetic level. For around 16 years, he passed on his expertise to the island’s children, giving art lessons for tapestries and mosaics, which were occasionally presented in exhibitions on Poros. Additionally, he has represented Poros three times in the Thessaloniki exhibition and at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, with tourist stands which he curated artistically and by partaking with his own works.  

The daughter

Gina Papadopoulou, who studied law and worked as a lawyer for 25 years, since 1987, before she decided to abandon the practice of law, without knowing what to do next. “I just wanted to end the cycle… but without having any plan for the future… However, the future was there… predestined… The memories were there… The easels, my dad’s paints everywhere, the paintbrushes, canvases, our trips to Europe, our long museum and art gallery visits had planted the seed which was fated to start blooming as soon as there was enough free time.” Also self-taught, she begun painting around 2013. First, she painted digitally, using her phone and later her tablet, then moving onto fabrics and finally to canvas and paper. She participated in a joint exhibition which took place in June 2020 in Megart Gallery, titled “Artists of the world”. Her artworks have decorated the music album covers of “Φρέσκος Πηλός” (first and second part, from Metronomos publishing) of composer Thodoris Karelas. Additionally, she is the main creator behind the unique works that are painted by hand on shirts and bags with the “Who is Mrs G?” brand. In November 2021, she had her first solo exhibition, titled “Playing with colours”, in Athens, in the attic of the café-bar π=3.14 at Pagrati, between the 10^th and 20^th.  

The island of their hearts

And so, after all these years of walking on separate paths, and after finding themselves navigating in the same waters of art, dad and daughter shared the wish to have a joint exhibition of their works on the island of their hearts.“ A tremendous thank you to Poros Municipality for offering the Syggrou Building for this exhibition and for supporting the exhibition’s organizing, as well as to Katheti, which has undertaken the exhibition’s communication.” Katheti’s aim is the sustainable development of the region of Poros, Troizina and Methana through cultural and educational activities. These activities include the “Bridges” art exhibition and the “Athlesis” photo exhibition, and of course the joint painting exhibition “In the same waters” by Christos Papadopoulos and Gina Papadopoulou. Exhibition Details Opening: August 6^th, 2022, 8:30 pm Duration: 6-16 August 2022 Opening times: 7-11pm Information/contact details: ginapap7@gmail.com, 6944381155