We recently connected with Chrys Roboras and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chrys, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I always loved creativity. Exiting high school I only wanted to be involved in fine arts. People tell you it’s not possible to live off your art and be a professional, but I couldn’t let it go.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am like a quirky mute narrator who uses a white canvas, brushes, and paint that become my means of communication with the outside world. My involvement in the stories I paint is sometimes as if I participate as the main hero or as a protagonist or as an eyewitness and at other times I give the leading role generously elsewhere, holding only the role of an observer!
I place the human form in huge, colorful semi-abstract landscapes. Time does not seem to concern me. In some works, its forms are depicted as an outline filled with various colors and shapes – as if the human form is a ‘container’ – of emotions, thoughts, and memories.
In many works, there is a more realistic representation of the human form. Here the heroes live and breathe in a dreamy atmosphere. The markings can be associated with romantic symbolism.
Observing my works it is obvious that people are in a constant motion most of the time. They come from somewhere or they go somewhere. Even when they are stable you understand that what they have in mind is the next step. The Present, the Past, and the Future are imprinted in their walking, in their course.
The human condition – the individual sense of her existence – is a central theme in my work and stems from my own experience as a Greek of the Diaspora, between the two cultures.
She studied at Seaforth Tafe College in Sydney, Australia, where she graduated in 1992. She continued her studies in Greece, through AKTO (Middlesex University-England) from where she graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Technology with First Class Honors.
In addition, she studied painting with teacher Tassos Misouras and Visual communication with Nikos Navridis and Katerina Apostolidou.
She has had 18 solo exhibitions; in Athens, Thessaloniki, Paros, New York, Toronto, London, Lugano, Los Angeles, Sydney, Chicago, and Brooklyn. Chrys has participated in Art Athina, Revolution Art Fair, Parallax Art Fair, Biennale of Chianciano, Biennale of Beijing, Biennale of Santorini, Scope Art Fair, Red Dot, Design Art Fair, Emerging Artist Award-Dubai, Art Takes Paris, The Artist Project, Art Capital Paris and The Other Art Fair by Saatchi.
She has shown her work in more than 70 group exhibitions around the world. Her works have received international awards while many are in international art catalogs for example, ArtTakes Miami 2012, 2014, 2015, Create Magazine, Art Seen The Curators Salon, Malamegi Lab 17, Contemporary Art Curator, Contemporary Art Identities. In 2013 Serendipity magazine published a tribute in her work.
Her work is found at the Museum of Fine Arts in Las Vegas and in many private collections in Greece and abroad.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Many times people will tell you that you can’t do it, that it’s too hard to achieve. If you really want a career in fine arts, exhibiting, or gallery representation you have to go out there and grab every opportunity. Knock on doors and persevere to get where you want to be. I have had many rejections along the way but that only made me more resilient. I have been able to exhibit worldwide with many art fairs and have gallery representation. I never gave up and I refuse to.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It’s really about when people see your work and tell you they can’t stop thinking about it. When they tell you that it speaks to them, they see themselves in the painting and emotionally are moved.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.chrysroboras.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrysroboras/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistChrysRoboras/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrysRoboras

Image Credits
Maria Mavropoulou