Artwork
Η Πύλη -2-
Η Πύλη -2- is an unspecified painting by the Contemporary Realist artist Alex Mylona. It dates from 1998 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus. Created in 1998, the work depicts a circular doorway set within a weathered stone wall.
About this work
It stands for life’s quiet gate, birth, growth, and endings, part of Mylona’s long “Woman-Birth-Earth” series.
Alex Mylona’s 1998 painting shows a round, earthy door set in a rough stone wall. Inside the door’s arch glows a soft, golden light. Outside, green leaves press against the frame like hands eager to enter.
This door isn’t just wood and stone. It stands for life’s quiet gate, birth, growth, and endings, part of Mylona’s long “Woman-Birth-Earth” series. The colors feel warm and alive, like sun on soil.
Look closer at the crack above the door. It splits the wall just enough to let that golden glow spill out. See how the light touches the leaves? It’s almost like the earth itself breathes here.
Mylona, Alex (1920-2016)
Overview
Created in 1998, the work depicts a circular doorway set within a weathered stone wall. A soft golden illumination emanates from the arch, while verdant leaves press against the frame from the exterior. The composition balances interior light and exterior foliage, suggesting a threshold between two realms.
Subject & Meaning
The doorway functions as a visual metaphor for the stages of existence, birth, growth, and return. Its placement within the broader "Woman‑Birth‑Earth" series links the image to themes of female fertility, the Earth goddess, and the cyclical relationship between humanity and the soil that nurtures and ultimately reclaims it.
Technique & Style
Rendered in a painterly manner, the piece employs a warm palette of ochre and green, with subtle gradations that convey the glow of light against stone. The texture of the wall and the delicate rendering of the leaves create a tactile contrast, emphasizing the materiality of earth and the ethereality of illumination.
History & Provenance
The image belongs to a series that first emerged in Alex Mylona’s 1985 drawings and was revisited a decade later across various media, including acrylic, gouache, paper, and canvas. The artist, who lived from 1920 to 2016, consistently returned to the "Woman‑Birth‑Earth" motif throughout his late career.
Context
Mylona’s work reflects a sustained interest in mythic and natural cycles prevalent in late‑20th‑century Greek art. By integrating archetypal symbols of the earth and femininity, the piece dialogues with contemporary explorations of identity, ecology, and the enduring symbolism of the doorway as a passage.
Artist & collection
Artist
Alex Mylona (Athens, 1920 – 2016) was a Greek sculptor, known for her multidimensional and experimental approach to art.
Museum
Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki – MOMus
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