MANOUSAKIS WINERY

Painting and design have always been a focal point in my life and serve as a way to process the day to day. I started drawing when I was 3 and as the years went on, I begged my parents to enroll me in any after school art classes we could find. Eventually, I graduated from NYU and majored in Fine Arts, Business, and Hellenic Studies. When I first moved to Greece I was fascinated by the juxtaposition of my Manhattan life and my new Greek village life in Vatolakkos. Even though I had been coming to Crete every summer enjoying the beautiful Mediterranean sun and sea, I had no idea what I was getting into.

Running a business as a young woman in a male centered society with completely different business practices, proved to be funny, scary, beautiful, liberating and even outrageous at times. I started out doing art shows for charity and have now created the eponymous brand Alexandra Manousakis, which pays tribute to the ancient practice of ceramics but adds modern day themes that are inspired by my nontraditional Greek experience.  Many of my works contain obscure words or phrases that have popped up and stuck with me whilst exploring the city and the countryside of my new home. Mostly satirical, and always with a background story, these works are like a journal of what my journey has been and how Greek and American culture can clash at the most important times.

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Art