Inspirations from Crete

How nice to find three artists, each expressing themselves in different media, working and exhibiting so well together!
They all live and work in the east of Crete and found that their work became inspired by the combination of their friendship, their diverse characters and similar attitudes. Put this together with their mutual love of life and lanscapes in Crete and the result can be seen an exhibition called Inspirations at the Mosque at Chania harbour.
It features the paintings of Jane Vogas (Swiss/UK) from Mavrikiano, the photographs and lino cuts of Welmoed Schmidt (Dutch) and the sculpture of Sylvia Leigh (English).
They have all exhibited before separately in many galleries in other countries and first came together when their work went on tour with the The Journey Exhibition which included the work of Greek and International artists and was seen in galleries throughout Crete and Athens. They are regular contributors to the annual Touch Exhibition now in its 6th year, in Agios Nikolaos.
The beautiful Mosque at Chania was a natural first choice for Jane Vogas and her friends to have for their first combined exhibition but for different reasons. "It was the first place I came to when I arrived in Crete in 1969" says Jane "I loved it so much I just stayed and lived there and painted everyday". Welmoed found amazing things to photogragh when she first went there in 1998 and Sylvia simply loves the refreshing contrast of the landscape and architecture there from that in the east of Crete. Chania has been a major centre for art and culture for centuries and has a thriving community of talented artists. The paintings of two of these local artists, Jan and Stephanie Johnson will be making a guest appearance in the exhibition.
The exhibition is free to visit and runs from 19 September until 5 October. It is open everyday from 11 am until 10pm.