AN ORIGINAL MASTER OF THE KARAGIOZIS GREEK POPULAR ART
Eugenios Spatharis, an artist who has an uneasy mind, an original animator of a popular hero, the naive painter who uses rich and live colours, the real “agent” of a special tradition, but, first of all, a very simple and a very nice person in his heart.
Eugenios, born in Kifissia, was growing up with his father’s art, Sotiris.He didn’t only have an uneasy mind but he had many talents too. He would like to study architecture but because of the life’s badconditions during the German occupation in Greece he finally dedicated himself to the Karagiozis art.
Eugenios Spatharis’ aim was to uplift and exalt Karagiozis not only as an important, traditional spectacle but also as a special kind of art and technique
Our hero, Karagiozis, began to amuse us even outside of his white screen: so, he became a live character, he became contemporaneous, he became a song, his plays were performed everywhere in the world and, finally, he found his “sweet home”, “Spathari”, just for getting some rest.
Eugenios Spatharis has really succeeded all these but always by keeping a proper respect and love for his art and his popular hero: that’s why everybody today calls him “Master”.