Officinae Pictorum

"Officinae Pictorum / circa 1221" by George Hadjimichalis, a work from the mid-1980s, is a large enclosed installation in the space, with a small entrance. Two central figures are depicted stripping off their clothes, which form the basic narrative of the work, as they come from two different sources: one is from an illustrated manuscript of the 12th century, while the second is from the painting "The Baptism" (c. 1445) by the Italian Piero della Francesca. The connection that Hadjimichalis attempts - he suggests the origin of della Francesca's depicted catechumen to be the 12th century Byzantine iconographer - creates a new genealogy of Renaissance art in Italy and reveals a contemporary artist - himself - who, as an intellectual, thoughtfully looks back to the roots of painting and history and rescues their deeper meaning.