CURIOSITIES:AN EXHIBITION of more than 57 Greek icons opened at the Gordon Gallery in Derry this week, in association with the Panhellenic Society of Iconographers and Dimitris Kolioussis.
If you happen to be a collector of icons, these are big names, we are reliably told. Most of the pieces are quite traditional, others are more whimsical. Some are painted on door panels, others on canvas and they come in all sizes and shapes.
Richard Gordon, proprietor of the gallery in Pump St, inside Derry's Walls, describes it as one of his finest shows. He represents the third generation of Gordons to work in the art business in Derry; the Gordons came to Derry in the mid-1800s after fleeing from anti-Jewish pogroms in Latvia.
Dr Victoria Solomonidis, minister in charge of cultural affairs from the Greek Embassy, contributed to the catalogue and was there to open the exhibition. "Some 1,400 years ago, St Colmcille said 'the angels of God sang in the glades of Derry and every leaf held its angel'. He would be pleased to see such a splendid congregation of saints and angels from Greece giving witness to the glory of God in the heart of today's Derry,"she said. An icon of Colmcille, the patron saint of Derry, has been "written" in Greece for the exhibition (it is said that icons have to be read rather than simply viewed).
The exhibition runs until April 12th. See www.gordon-gallery.com
Patsey Murphy