ANNA KIPARIS

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About

01

Artist

Anna has studied architecture to cultivate a deep understanding of spaces and styles —first physical and now the intangible realms where objects and symbols dwell. Her work delves into the environments these objects could create, shaped by the layers of cultural and historical essence embedded in them. Each piece reflects her pursuit of the hidden dialogues between space, symbolic structures, and the suggestive worlds they evoke.

02

Now: Cows and Baroque

The cow, often considered a mundane or humble creature, becomes a vessel for baroque ideas—excess, complexity, and blending of the natural and bizarre. In many cultures, the cow symbolizes fertility, nourishment, and life, but it transcends its utilitarian function in an artistic context. By placing the cow in the baroque sphere, the tension between beauty and brutality, consumption and reverence, death and renewal becomes palpable.

Series

Where Do Sacred Cows Roam

This series presents a collection of artworks and poetry exploring life's value through the symbol of the cow. Paintings, accompanied by original poems, delve into life's cultural and philosophical significance, portraying the cow as a powerful symbol of sanctity and transformation. The works reflect on the intersection of personal and universal experiences, blending classic and contemporary perspectives to offer a profound narrative on the enduring significance of the cow across traditions and beliefs.

cows in fresco

The series is inspired by the frescoes of the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, renowned for their striking beauty and enduring natural red hue. The sacredness of the rituals depicted in the frescoes and the various interpretations surrounding this enigmatic site reflect the quest for the divine in each character, akin to the early religious narratives, revealing the mysteries of initiation rituals and sacrifice. The cow embodies symbols of sacrifice and sanctity, serving as a complex protagonist in the artist's interpretation of the red frescoes of the Mysteries.

Cows FROM The Red Corner

The works follows the Christian Orthodox tradition typical for the icon in the Red Corner. The beloved icon is draped with fabric for a festive and sacred display, giving it a central role in the space. In the scene with the Cow Trinity, the fabric transforms the image into a Baroque-style mise-en-scène.
They exceptionally enhances any interior, with the colour and texture of silk harmonizing with a wall colour.

Macabre Cows

Macabre Cows is a series about processes we cannot see with the eye. The series depicts cows trapped in a dark space, swarming in the chaos of an unnatural environment. Even a kind and usually cheerful creature contains the energy of discord.

The Passion of the Cows

The works in this series follow the canon of Christian Orthodox painting, employing multi-layered colour application and natural gilding. The unique use of reverse perspective makes the viewer an observer of a sacred New Testament scene, where cows witness the holy actions and replace the images of angels and saints.

Current Work

03

Where Do Sacred Cows Roam

The series of paintings, accompanied by original poems, delves into life's cultural and philosophical significance, portraying the cow as a powerful symbol of sanctity and transformation. These works create a safe space for the symbol to exist freely, where its meaning can unfold without external pressures. Reflecting on the intersection of personal and universal experiences, they blend classic and contemporary perspectives, offering a profound narrative on human and animal coexistence, where the cow becomes a vessel for exploring life’s more profound truths.

04

Authors technique

The artwork is created using mainly fingers instead of brushes, aiming to provide a tactile and personal touch. An acrylic base is mixed with oil paint particles to achieve intricate textures and patterns, which convey both dark and weathered surfaces as well as the feeling of ancient frescoes.

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Tiny Poems

"
When milk was spilled across the sky,
The Milky Way began its glide.
Between the pearls of light, cows dream,
In hammocks spun from clouds that gleam.
Unknowing of the world below,
They sing their lullabies to those
Who sometimes lift their gaze above,
And find in starlight, peace and love.
Their songs bring calm, a sense of grace,
Where sands of time and ocean’s base
Meet whispering, so soft and slow—
Like wind and waves, that singing flows.

Cow's Lullaby

"
Once there was a cow, so peculiar, so true,
One hoof was red, and the other one blue.
When she stepped with blue, up on heaven’s trail,
The world would brighten with each hoofprint laid.
Once stepped she with red, on the earth below,
A sly little devil would start to grow.
With a step and a print, the world could change,
From kindness to cunning, a twist so strange.
A shadow of trickery, a dance so sly,
Where hoofprints entwine, weaving a lie.
So the cow roamed the lands, with a careful stride,
She treads on the edge where shadows are bright,
In her warmth, our souls find rest, so true;
Returning, we pray the earth remains blue.

The Tale of The Red and Blue Hoof

05

What's next?

Now I work with the theme of the exploitation of symbols in art and am currently exploring the use of the cow as a symbol in works from Rembrandt to Bacon, Hirst, and Marina Abramović. In these works, the cow continues symbolising everyday exploitation, embodying consumerism, beauty of death and sacrifice.
I create homages to artists who have used the cow as a symbol. The series I'm now working on is a homage to Ilya Glazunov's work titled 'On the Collective Farm Warehouse,' which depicts the interior of a church, frescoed walls in the background, and a cow's carcass hanging prominently. It reflects the 1930s in the USSR when using churches for slaughter intensified the ideology of rejecting religion.

06

Cow Hommage

In my new series, I depict a fragments of a church interiors adorned with frescoes of cows. I explore the cow's colour and morphology as a living object and symbol, fluctuating between pastoralism and everyday life, and its sculptural, almost baroque curves and charm. Through this symbol, I aim to recreate multiple layers of historical and cultural meaning, stucked between violence and beauty, touching on the contemporary relationship to religion while continuing the tradition of this image in art.

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THE BAROQUE SPLENDOR HIDING IN COWS? THERE'S MORE TO THESE CREATURES THAN MEETS THE EYE—CAN YOU SEE IT?

Products

THE BAROQUE IMAGE OF COWS IN AUTHORIAL PAINTINGS AND FRESCOES BECOMES WEARABLE IN ELEGANT SCARVES. THIS SPECIAL ACCESSORY ALLOWS YOU TO BECOME PART OF THE DIALOGUE CARRIED BY THE ART, EMBODYING THE VALUE OF LIFE AND THE SYMBOL OF THE COW IT CONVEYS.

In the United Kingdom, families and individuals similarly refused to let go of the tradition of wearing scarves as a staple fashion accessory. Even as modern fashion trends evolved, the timeless appeal of scarves persisted. British settlers carried this tradition to their colonies, where the elegant and practical use of scarves, alongside other iconic British garments, became a cherished part of daily life.