Art Athina 2008
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Under the artistic direction of Christos Savvidis and the creative coordination of ArtBOX.gr, Art Athina was successfully relaunched in May 2007. Having received enthusiastic feedback from the participating galleries, both local and international, as well as from the media and the general public, the fair made a dynamic comeback. In 2008, we again collaborate with Greek and international art professionals, in order to deliver a rich, stimulating programme of projects and events that balance a commercial and curatorial approach.
MAIN PROGRAMBasic PlanThe main fair section includes participations from Greek and international galleries: a.antonopoulou.art (Athens, GR), AD Gallery (Athens, GR), Agathi (Athens, GR), Astrolavos Art Galleries (Athens, GR), Batagianni Gallery (Athens, GR), Blow de la Barra (London, UK), C. Grimaldis Gallery (Baltimore, USA), Centre of Contemporary Art Diatopos (Nicosia, Cyprus), Cheapart (Athens, GR), Christian Nagel Gallery (Cologne/Berlin, Germany), Dollinger Art Project (Tel Aviv, Israel), Ekfrasi - Gianna Grammatopoulou (Athens, GR), Eleni Koroneou Gallery (Athens, GR), Federico Bianchi Contemporary art (Gorgonzola (MI), Italy), Francoise Heitsch (Munich, Germany), Frissiras Art Gallery (Athens, GR), Groeflin Maag Galerie (Zurich, CH), Habres & Partner Gallery (Vienna, Austria), Heinz Martin Weigand (Ettlingen, Germany), Kalfayan Galleries (Athens/Thessaloniki, GR), Loraini Alimantiri/gazonrouge (Athens, GR), Marcdepuechredon (Basel, CH), Mot International (London, UK), Medousa Art Gallery (Athens, GR), Mirko Mayer (Cologne, Germany), Mirta Demare (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Monitor (Rome, Italy), Nice & Fit (Berlin, Germany), Peres Projects (Berlin, Germany), Perugi Artecontemporanea (Padova, Italy), Potnia Thiron (Athens, GR), QBox (Athens, GR), Reinhard Hauff (Stuttgart, Germany), Rodeo (Istanbul, Turkey), Selini Gallery (Athens, GR), The Apartment (Athens, GR), The Breeder (Athens, GR), Tint Gallery (Thessaloniki, GR), Titanium Yiayiannos Gallery (Athens, GR), Tsatsis Projects (Thessaloniki, GR), Vamiali’s (Athens, GR), Xippas Gallery (Athens, GR), Zina Athanassiadou Gallery (Thessaloniki, GR)
9+1In this invitational section within Basic Plan, Isabella Bortolozzi (Isabella Bortolozzi Gallery, Berlin) invites cutting edge international galleries: Ancient & Modern (London, UK), Andreas Huber Gallery (Vienna, AU), Balice – Hertling (Paris, FR), Croy Nielsen (Berlin, DE), Dependance (Brussels, BE), Francesca Pia (Zurich, CH), Isabella Bortolozzi Gallery (Berlin, DE), Micky Schubert (Berlin, DE), Laura Bartlett Gallery (London, UK), Standard (Oslo, N)
Open PlanArt Athina’s curatorial section, introduced in 2007, takes place again this year with a stronger exhibitional feel. Curator Bettina Busse (Berlin) invites interesting international art galleries to exhibit sculptures and installations, stretching the limits of the traditional art fair, offering new opportunities to buyers.
Participating galleries: a.antonopoulou.art (Athens, GR), AD Gallery (Athens, GR), Galerie Antje Wachs GmbH & Co Kg (Berlin, Germany), Charim (Vienna, Austria), Hubert Winter (Vienna, Austria), Ekfrasi-Gianna Grammatopoulou (Athens, GR), Eleni Koroneou Gallery (Athens, GR), Kalfayan Galleries (Athens/Thessaloniki, GR), Krinzinger Gallery (Vienna, Austria), Krinzinger Projekte (Vienna, Austria), Loraini Alimantiri/gazonrouge (Athens, GR), Medousa Art Gallery (Athens, GR), Galerie Mirko Mayer (Cologne, Germany), Nice & Fit (Berlin, Germany), Potnia Thiron (Athens, GR), QBOX (Athens, GR), Rodeo (Istanbul, Turkey), Sassa Truelzsch (Berlin, Germany), The Apartment (Athens, GR), Zoumboulakis Gallery (Athens, GR). Focus: Berlin
This year’s special tribute will focus on emerging, cutting-edge galleries from Berlin, invited by Sarah Belden (Curators Without Borders gallery, Berlin).
Participating galleries: Galerie Air Garten, Curators Without Borders, Gillian Morris, Pitrowski, Stedenfreunde, Tristesse Delux, Upstairs Berlin & Daneyal Mahmood. VIP ProgramMore than a hundred VIPs visited Art Athina. VIP Programme Coordinator, Afrodite Gonou, in collaboration with Artistic Director, Christos Savvidis, planned a programme of guided tours to the fair and its parallel exhibitions, as well as guided visits to major museums and private collections around Athens.
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HELEXPO PALACE |
PARALLEL PROGRAMME
The fair’s parallel programme provides a platform for curated projects and events, onsite at Helexpo and offsite in venues around the city, including exhibitions, performances, talks and encounters.
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Garage Project: Athensville
Text by project curator Marina Fokidis
“Athensville” focuses on artists who live in Athens or are busy with work there (or with work that relates to Athens), chosen regardless of age, generation, or period of their works, but chosen for the main purpose of creating an atmosphere that somehow conveys the idioms and eccentricities of the local surroundings. In contrast to the customary atmosphere of the rest of Art Athina (or of any other artistic event that wants its works “for sale” to stand out under the clear light of day), it represents a darker, stranger, more brittle and interactive microcosm that is perhaps ultimately there to fully round out the exhibition. Works are presented at the fair venue's garage, between the gallery’s booths and outside the building. Interfacing with other artistic presentations of the last few years, and with the debate about a future artistic commonality in Greece, the aim of this show is neither to specifically name the artists who will most likely be shaping the local scene; nor to give the impression that there could even be such a category of artists to be represented from a selection of art works. Different attempts have been made, and different viewpoints have been put forward, proposing list after list of artists’ names, via gallery exhibitions or publications, where sometimes there is agreement, and sometimes the one list cancels out the other, without anyone allowing the appropriate time to pass which might give real justification to such a thing. It always appears useful, before we try to isolate information about what could be called the art scene of a place, to try to understand the feeling of the place we’re talking about. With this concern in mind, it may perhaps be more interesting to turn our attention to what it could mean to say “Someone lives here” -in a country of contradictions, in a mass of concrete where more than 500,000 people live in close contact with each other and which spreads out under the emblematic shadow of the Parthenon, the symbolic justification that functions like a permanent excuse for opposition to any sort of “local irregularity” (in relation to the Hellenic ideal) taking place in the Greece of today. But what does “irregularity” mean? The action of Yiorgos Makris is characteristic: as long ago as 1944 (three years after the “heroic” action of Glezos and Sandas, who took the German flag down from the top of the Parthenon), he wrote the “proclamation for blowing up the Acropolis,” which a whole group of aesthetic saboteurs of antiquities joined in signing. This act did not spring from any antihellenic sentiment, but from a deep yearning for immediate recognition of the youth culture of Greece that needed to be set apart from the emblem of the Parthenon -an emblem which was serving to legitimize (if legitimization was needed) any sort of distortion. However, to explain the oddness and eccentricity of an environment, you need more than the limited space of a page, or of a garage over a period of four days; you need more than the framework of a gallery show. The show, “Athensville,” has in no respect an obvious theoretical basis or obvious criteria in its selection of works, or any tight curatorial structure. Beyond everything else, it is an attempt to create a mirror of this highly complex arena of a place, of Athens (of Greece), a constantly shifting situation of relationships and balances which is constantly generating new relationships and balances -lightly differentiated interpretations of what is always the same dynamic! The works in the show “Athensville” don’t refer to a scattered “Art” that “urgently” seeks immediate correspondence, an obvious alignment either with the criteria (for example) of the Parisian salon, or with the criteria of the more recent model from the British scene (phenomena that you owe to completely different local and temporal coincidences). Opposite is a mix of works, older still, from 1986 and other more recent years (not that this has any particular significance), which also, within a new network of connections in present time, suit the contemporary situation. In most cases it’s a question of works that they negotiate intensely and with pure intentions the private and intensely familiar surroundings of their creators! These, in connection with the program of videos, co-curated with the group “Into the Pill”, and the program of musical performances, in the care of the music editor Monsieur Hulot, shape Athensville as a place (a city, a show, a scene) which ideally finds the situation of little changes or yet of an odd fundamental stagnation and, together with some radical movements which this stagnation has generated, a very interesting place (in relation to developments in the purely western, fully commercialized international art scene), which we would have to accept and properly exploit. Among the “sculptures” is a bar (designed by Andreas Angelidakis), and it functions, literally (it serves drinks) and symbolically, as an inseparable part of the show. Surrounded by the rest of the works, it calls the spectators to come together for further reflections on what they know and don’t know at all, on something that they’ve seen another time in a different setting, or that that they’ve never seen before. The bar relates to a situation which, as described above, does not fit in (and of that happens, it perhaps misses the mark), but its very peculiarity (which is able to develop in its own unique dynamic) guarantees exactly the opposite. It’s very hard for me to close this text without quoting a few verses from the classic piece “Heaven” by the Talking Heads. There are those among us who grew up with it! Everyone is trying to get to the bar. The name of the bar, the bar is called heaven. Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens. Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens There is a party, everyone is there. Everyone will leave at exactly the same time. It s hard to imagine that nothing at all Could be so exciting, and so much fun. |
HELEXPO PALACE |
Radio GaGaText by project curator Stephanie Bertrand
Radio gA gA is a curatorial project that responds to the fair’s essentially commercial nature. It is a soundtrack composed of music ‘on hold’ and background music. This type of music is designed to induce a state of distraction or to create an atmosphere, which puts people at ease or encourages them to consume in the new privatized spaces of public gathering, notably elevators, shopping centers, supermarkets, hotel lobbies, etc. Radio gA gA borrows its title from the Queen song by the same name, a hymn that warns against music fading into the background for the profit of visual culture. The soundtrack will be played continuously on Art Athina’s intercom system for the duration of the fair, only interrupted during public announcements. This project aims to explore the implications of viewing art in a state of distraction. In his essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Walter Benjamin advocates for the consumption of art by a collectivity in a state of distraction. He privileges a mode of viewing characterized by absent-minded examination as opposed to absorbed contemplation. Within the context of art fairs, it is virtually impossible to contemplate artworks. The sheer size and limited time frame of these events transform them into crowded and bustling affairs, more akin to busy shopping arcades, lined with aisles of luxury goods, than to large scale art exhibitions. Radio gA gA draws attention to the commercial aspect of the fair by suspending the sanctimonious silence still associated with art viewing. As a continuously audible soundtrack, this project will permeate the spaces of display so as to re-frame every possible presentation of artwork within the fair as yet another sophisticated form of commercial display. However, the background music that was compiled for Art Athina is not meant to enhance visitors’ shopping experience, as is usually the case. While it is deeply affected, this soundtrack will not dramatize the fair’s spectacle but, on the contrary, make it appear absolutely banal. If affect is usually instrumentalized for marketing purposes, this music’s overt affectedness will have the opposite effect on artworks’ seductive presentation. It will reveal and thus lessen the aura of the desirable luxury commodity that always accompanies works of art when they are presented within this context. |
HELEXPO PALACE |
Five Seasons of the Russian Avant-Garde; works from the Costakis Collection
Ninety works from the acclaimed Costakis Collection of the State Museum of Modern Art in Thessaloniki displayed at the Museum of Cycladic Art from 14 May to 20 October 2008. These distinctive items (paintings, drawings, three-dimensional artefacts) represent all of the groups and movements of the Russian avant-garde (1900s-1930s). The exhibition includes some of the most significant works from the collection by artists such as Malevich, Popova, Tatlin, Rochenko, Nikritin, Lissitzky etc. It is divided into five chapters devoted to the bold pioneering aesthetic experiments that took place in Russia and, through their dynamism and boldness, transformed the history of 20th-century art.
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Museum of Cycladic Art
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Lion under the rainbow. Art from Tehran.
[exhibition]
LION UNDER THE RAINBOW is an exhibition of artworks by Iranian artists who live and work in Tehran. The exhibition is curated by Greek artist Alexandros Georgiou and organized by D.ART, a non profit cultural association. The title, "Lion under the Rainbow", is borrowed from a painting by Vahid Sharifan. It comes as a contradiction to what one expects to hear when Iran is mentioned. It is poetic and political simultaneously. Alexandros Georgiou resided in Tehran for a long period of time and his research resulted in the concept for this exhibition which includes nineteen artists from differing disciplines (painting, photography, video, performance, music, poetry) and from varying generations: Reza Abedini (graphic design), Shokoufeh Alidousti (photography), Mahmoud Bakhshi-Moakhar (installation/video), Reza Bangiz (painting), Ali Chitsaz (painting), Farshad Fozouni (music), Amirali Ghasemi (video), Bahman Jalali (photography), Rana Javadi (photography), Katayoun Karami (photography), Ali Hossein Khan (sculpture), Mehran Mohajer (photography), Majid Ma'soumi Rad (video), Neda Razavipour (video, drawings), Mamali Shafahi & Behrouz Raei (performance, photography), Rozita Sharaf Jahan (video), Vahid Sharifian (painting, installation) and Jinoos Taghizadeh (performance). This exhibition attempts to bring a wider audience into contact with artworks that have been difficult to see, with an aim to be emotive and questioning. It is an effort to present a culture with common concerns with the West, but with differing approaches. The works are personal and specific; they present different interpretations of contemporary artistic creativity, composing a unique and authentic world of thoughts and emotions. They reveal both sensitivity and mental freedom, which is expressed in refined manners frequently with a sharp sense of humor. The works go beyond realism and they carry a fantasy-like element which brings forward an unexpectedly different perspective. The poster/invitation is designed by Reza Abedini. The exhibition catalogue is designed in Tehran by Farhad Fozouni, in three languages (Farsi, English and Greek). The exhibition venue is the 4th & 5th floors of 50 Aiolou Street, a pedestrian street in the historical centre of Athens. The space is being used for the first time for a visual arts event. Performances at ART ATHINA Jinoos Taghizadeh: “Viva Socrates”. The last of the “Cafe Konj” series of performances in which the artist will drink real Qajar poison (the same with which she poisoned her audience during her latest performance in Tehran). 22/5 at 22:00. Live performance transmitted through webcam and projected on screens at Level Β (OPEN PLAN), booth next to cafe. Amirali Ghasemi : “Word to Word”. A series of performances in which the artist is making video portraits of the spectators, in a projection installation. 22/5 at 19:00-21:00. 23/5, 24/5 & 25/5 at 18:00-20:00. Level Β (OPEN PLAN), booth next to cafe Mamali Shafahi & Behrouz Raei: “Freedom”. A series of performances that comments and is inspired by governmental and satellite Iranian TV. 22/5 at 20:30-21:30. 23/5, 24/5 & 25/5 at 18:00-19:00. Various Locations in ART ATHINA. |
4th & 5th floors of 50 Aiolou Street
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Elements of Light
[exhibition]
Text by exhibition curator Boris Manner
Stella Art Foundation, Moscow, and the Center of Art and Knowledge Transfer of the Vienna University of Applied Arts have bee cooperating from more than two years now. Aside from the promotion of young artists, the Foundation established by Stella Kesaeva has an agenda that also includes the building of a collection of contemporary Russian art and a modern art museum. Founded 1867, the Vienna University of Applied Arts educates artists at the media interface between design, architecture and visual art. The first steps in the cooperation between both institutions were joint exhibitions shown in Vienna and Moscow. In order to further develop and accentuate the relationship, an “artists in residence” program was drawn up, the idea being to have one Austrian and one Russian artist spend about one month together ‘on neutral ground’ so as to start a dialogue and mutual confrontation. Another goal beyond the personal encounter of two art-makers was the definition of a formal concept that went even further. That was the time when Niki Liodaki and George Sfikas came into play. Being visual artists themselves, they had just completed a house on Syros, an ‘ideal’ house that incorporated months of research of the climate, lighting conditions, and the night sky. The Oros Harasson Art Centre that they had founded served the goal of facilitating encounters of artists of widely diverse positions. This seemed to be an ideal ‘premise’ to offer our two candidates, Eugenia Emets from Moscow and Markus Proschek from Vienna, an opportunity of participating in a program with a formal orientation but freedom of contents. The working stay of the two artists then took place in the summer of 2006. The results will be exhibited from May 2008 at the Art Athina shown at the Hellenic American Union. Eugenia Emets mainly works with processes of photographic representation. Following a period of intensive research in Central Asia, she now pursues the transformation of the photographic gaze into animated moving forms of representation. She keeps working together with musicians in order to create, through the addition of sounds, landscapes that engage all senses. Markus Proschek has been preoccupied with the imagery of the art of fascism for several years now. Its exponents are not exhibited in public collections nowadays; nevertheless, they are familiar through media images. Proschek raises the question of the quality of this art by undercutting it with quotes of hyperrealism and in installations. Viewers are thus brought into an ambivalent position to this ‘repressed’ imagery; a dilemma which provokes an impulse to reconsider one’s own aesthetic position vis-à-vis these images. Both artists take a media-based approach to their own work, incorporating the gaze and the attitude of the viewer in their construction of their works. Moreover, they both have a curatorial attitude. Eugenia Emets sets up her own exhibition design in given exhibition spaces and thus upholds her position against the predefined museum context. In his pictures, Markus Proschesk envisages exhibitions in spaces which could, and would, never take place in reality. The encounter of these two diverse positions in one exhibition sharpens viewers’ awareness of the linking construction lines along which young contemporary artists work today. |
Helenic American Union
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Looking forward to hearing from you..
[exhibition]
The exhibition presents works by contemporary Cypriot artists. It is organized by the Ministry of Culture and Education of Cyprus and the Embassy of Cyprus in Athens- House of Cyprus, in collaboration with the Gounaropoulos Museum, where it takes place. |
Gounaropoulos Museum
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Art Talks
[talks]
Art Athina Art Talks features discussions between art professionals on various subjects, such as narcissism, ownership, consumption and criticism. Among the participants are Catherine David, Christian Viveros-Faune, Roger Buergel, Ruth Noack, November Paynter, and Bonnie Marranca. |
HELEXPO PALACE |