Mirror with Mauve, 1964

Dimitris Mytaras is one of the most prominent painters of his generation. His primarily anthropocentric oeuvre is rich and varied. His vigorous, incisive drawing, his sharp color, his caustic social commentary – features that distinguish his mature work – have established him as one of the most distinctive painters in contemporary Greek art.

Mirror in Mauve belongs to the series Mytaras painted in his youth, during the 60s when abstraction first imposed itself in Greece. In reality this is not a non-representational picture. Mytaras has described as a source of inspiration an old mirror and the reflections of his urban family home in the town of Halkida. In the abstract motifs seen reflected in the mirror, we can recognize a living-room chair. In reality, however, this is an abstract composition dominated by curvilinear forms, dynamic rhythms, and cool tones of blue and green that stand out against the black ground. The few pools of red enliven the dominant cool, dark tonality. The glints of white light on the mirror add action to the composition and invigorate the other colors.