Art Athina Review | Dimitrios Spyrou

This year’s Art Athina, the international art fair and the biggest art event of the year in Greece, took place at the Athens Conservatoire from Wednesday June 20th to Sunday June 24th. Featuring more than 500 artists and 53 galleries from Greece and abroad, the Athenian art fair took place a month later than its usual schedule with one extra day in the agenda.

The new venue of the 23rd edition of Art Athina, connected the fair to the artistic life of the city in multiple meaningful ways. Abandoning the conventional conference halls, the fair comes to the emblematic modernist building of the Athens Conservatoire, in the vibrant centre of Athens, which not only is a point of reference for the architectural history of the Greek capital but also offers easy access to the visitors. The venue, located among the most important museums of the city, accommodated the National Museum of Contemporary Art for a number of years, artistic events of NEON Organization and last year it was one of the main sites of documenta 14.

Art Athina was presented during the preview day by the president of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association, Gianna Grammatikopoulos and the artistic director of the fair Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos. A number of politicians attended the fair on that day, among them the president of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, the Minister of State, Dimitrios Tzanakopoulos and the Secretary of State in Culture, Konstantinos Stratis.    

This year’s edition continued the initiatives taken last year, by building major collaborations with foundations, museums and institutions. The fair presented the Educational Program in collaboration with the I. F. Kostopoulos Foundation, the Art Athina Open Studios in collaboration with the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Art Athina Workspace in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and the Athens Culture Net. A new initiative worth mentioning was the establishment, in collaboration with Copelouzos Family Art Museum, of a prize awarded to a participating artist. This year the winner was Christos Bouronikos who participated in the fair with Gallery 7.

The main section of the fair featured galleries from Greece, United States, Australia, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Belgium which presented works by upcoming and established artists.

An interesting addition to the fair was Gallery Antiqua (Greece) which presented a tribute to Italian and Scandinavian design from 1945 to 1975 through the works of architects, pioneers of the international modernist movement of the previous century. On the same level, the remarkable video section, materialized in collaboration with DESTE Foundation, presented works by the Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg and the Dutch artist Rineke Dijkstra.

In the main section, the reduced number of galleries and the few noteworthy presentations left the art crowd and professionals unsatisfied. In general, the level of the fair was poor apart from a few brilliant exceptions that impressed me. On the first level of the fair, Zina Athanassiadou Gallery (Greece), loyal to its long tradition, presented two well known Greek artists, Dimitris Alithinos and Apostolos Georgiou and stood out from the rest of the surrounding gallery presentations.

Admittedly, the second building of the fair accommodated better shows. Eleni Koroneou Gallery (Greece) presented selected works by John Bock, Liam Everett, Alex Hubbard, Helmut Middendorf, Panos Papadopoulos, Yorgos Sapountzis and two impressive sculptures by Lito Kattou who was the recipient of the Art Cologne Award for New Positions 2018. Besides, CAN Christina Androulidaki Gallery brought a new and fresh concept to the fair. Its booth included works by Emmanouil Bitsakis, Vlassis Kaniaris, Dimitris Condos, Marianna Ignataki, Konstantinos Ladianos, Manolis D. Lemos, Lefteris Tapas, Pavlos Tsakonas, Alexis Vasilikos and Versaweiss. One of the highlights of the gallery was Manolis D. Lemos’ “Liquid Dreams (Spring in Greece) No 2” (2017-18) which was exclusively created by digitally scanned Greek wild flowers.

Next to them, a gallery with international presence, the well known Kalfayan Galleries (Greece) featured works by Rania Bellou, Silvina Der Meguerditchian, Antonis Donef, Farida El Gazzar, Kalos & Klio, Konstantin Kakanias, Maria Loizidou, Nina Papaconstantinou, Yiannis Papadopoulos, Nausica Pastra,Tasso Pavlopoulos, Hrair Sarkissian, Dimitris Tataris, Panos Tsagaris, Kostis Velonis and Raed Yassin. One of the leading works of the booth was Panos Tsagaris’ “July 6 2015” (2017) that belongs to the artist’s well known newspaper series.

Kostis Velonis, Debate on Chimneys, 2017

From the group show “Daybreak” curated by Anna Chatzinassiou

Acrylic, oil, pencil and oil pastel on canvas, 150 x 150 cm

Courtesy the artist and Kalfayan Galleries, Athens – Thessaloniki

The booth that really made a difference, and was probably the only properly curated show, was the VIP Lounge which accommodated the group show “Daybreak” curated by the art historian Anna Chatzinassiou. The lounge which was assisted by the members’ club Salon de Bricolage, featured three artists; Panos Papadopoulos, Alexandros Psychoulis and Kostis Velonis. The works, even though totally different, introduced an artistic dialogue open to interpretation and their interaction with the industrial architecture of the space created a unique atmosphere for the visitors. Unlike the VIP Lounges in the art fairs around the world, which are only open to VIP guests, Art Athina VIP Lounge willingly invited all visitors to see the presented show and the curator was eager to answer questions and talk with the viewers. However, only the VIP guests were entitled to be served by the bar of the lounge. In this way, the visitors of the fair had the chance to see great works of art and visit the, otherwise, elitistic space of a VIP Lounge, not to mention their satisfaction for being able to discuss the works with the artists and the curator herself.

Alexandros Psychoulis, Pinkweb, 2009

From the group show “Daybreak” curated by Anna Chatzinassiou

Mixed media, 135 x 270 cm

Courtesy the artist and A.Antonopoulou.Art Gallery

We cannot oversee the effort of the Art Athina’s organizing team and the positive changes they made. However, this event should have attracted more visitors. In fact, the organization lacks important qualities which directly affected the experience of the fair. The unbearable heat in the interior spaces, the lack of proper equipment, the problematic planning of the fair and the poor signage were some of the problems that prevented visitors form participating in the biggest artistic event of Athens. Besides, the absence of a number of talented contemporary artists and important galleries that used to participate in the fair should ring a bell to the organization team. Let’s hope it will get better next year and continue the brilliant twenty-three year history of Art Athina.

By Dimitrios Spyrou

Art Historian | Curator | Art Critic

15th Istanbul Biennial “a good neighbor” | Dimitrios Spyrou

Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) since 1987, the 15th Istanbul Biennial is spread across six locations; Istanbul Modern Museum, Pera Museum, ARK Kültür, Galata Greek Primary School, Yoğunluk Artist Atelier and Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hammam. Despite the modest and manageable scale, the exhibition features 56 artists from 32 countries, including 30 new commissions, and generally has a strong bend towards the medium of sculpture.

Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, the curators of the 15th edition of Istanbul Biennial, based the show on a signature approach of narrativistic subversions and installative sleights of hand, a technique in which they are consistent and art to convey notions  that are anti-simplistic in nature. However, in the age of bullies-as-politicians and group-thinking boycotters, complexity has in itself become a political cause that needs to be celebrated, protected, and given ample space to be experienced. Ultimately, in a period of political and social turmoil for Turkey, the Danish-Norwegian duo had to face a central question: How can one carve a space wide enough for the biennial and its artworks to unfold, rather than be forced through a narrow filter tinted by the latest headlines?

Therefore, instead of a curatorial statement, the curators have developed forty questions that have guided the process of making the exhibition. These questions were first presented live in Istanbul by 40 performers of different ages, genders and backgrounds in December last year. Titled “a good neighbour,” the 15th Istanbul biennial asks what does it mean to, simply, coexist. The question—which is being used for an international billboard project presented in several cities around the world— is presented as an incomplete sentence, as Michael Elmgreen explained at the biennial’s press conference, and most likely one ending with a question mark.

The curators’ overarching theme, however, reaches into the charged realm of domesticity, otherness, identity, and belonging. However it could have easily been summarized in a reliance on post-modern discourses that may or may not enhance the interaction with the works, depending on the beholder. Besides, having had experience in biennial exhibitions, the curators have chosen a scale that ensured the viewers’ full engagement with every work on view.

Latifa Echakhch, "Crowd Fade," 2017, Fresco.

The Istanbul Modern museum, located on the Bosporus seafront, is said to be demolished, and possibly replaced by a Renzo Piano-designed museum which will be part of a greater construction project. It seems likely that the venue's contested fate may have affected the selection of works in this part of the biennial, and their combined effect of bleakness. Indicative of this idea is Latifa Echakhch’s Crowd Fade (2017) which collapses in front of the viewers’ eyes. Istanbul Modern also includes a few of the biennial’s more curious selections, including a work by Xiao Yu, Ground (2014/17) that includes a live donkey and two Chinese farmers ploughing a plot of cement by the museum’s entrance. On the other side, the visitor meets Adrian Villar Rochas’ sculpture The Most Beautiful of All Mothers (2015) which is indicative of the artist’s preoccupation with nature and existence.

Inside, the first work one encounters is Adel Abdessemed’s Cri (2013), a complex piece that takes the iconic image of Phan Thi Kim Phuc, better known as the Napalm Girl, and renders her haunting naked figure in ivory. For this viewer, the argument that an additional layer of meaning and value is given to the photojournalistic image of the horrors of war by this extreme object remained unconvincing. Similarly, Rayyane Tabet’s Colosse Aux Pied D’ Argile (2015) through a direct reference to the destruction of Beirut’s historical buildings, points out the unlikely affinities of the economic and symbolic exchanges that comprise ‘culture.’

Rayyane Tabet, "Colosse Aux Pied D' Argile," (2015).

Art works whose political content is more directly related to the realities in Turkey tend to be more visually delicate, and a number of them are found in the Pera Museum. The need to give a piece multiple and more critical interpretations is evident in Gözde Ilkin’s series of embroidered textile pieces, Inverted Home (2017). Melding patterned domestic fabrics with embroidered figures culled from photographs, the Turkish artist addresses issues of self-censorship, performativity in public space, and the oppression of prescribed roles, among other things.

In fact, notions of gender and sexual identities are addressed by many works in the exhibition. Specifically, a Bauhaus-style villa housing the cultural space Arc Kultur, is entirely dedicated to one work by Mahmoud Khaled, called Proposal for a House Museum of an Unknown Crying Man, (2017). Khaled, like the curators, has used similar narrative devices. He weaves a story about the reclusive and secretive man who previously inhabited the house. An audio guide leads viewers thought around this suggested museum and through carefully selected personal effects, the artist connects the man’s imagined life with the report released by Human Rights Watch in 2004, titled “In a Time of Torture,” describing Egypt’s crackdown on homosexual conduct.

The Galata Greek Primary School hosts some of the most striking works of the biennial. Generously installed pieces by Pedro Gomez Egana, Dan Stockholm, and Kasia Fudakowski for example, placed on different levels of the building, each speak of the home, its physical and personal foundations, the bodies inhabiting domestic spaces—or the separations keeping others out of them—in stylistically varied ways. Together, they create a common thread through the location leading up to the top floor, where a work by Leander Shönweger, comprised of a maze of white-washed walls and unusually sized door frames, sends viewers through a disorienting and potentially claustrophobia-inducing quest.

The old classrooms are each dedicated to a work by a single artist, and the careful use of space is at times urgently needed. More specifically, for one video piece, Erkan Özgen’s Wonderland (2016), the darkened black box becomes something akin to a memorial. Shot in a simple domestic setting, the video shows a deaf and mute 13-year-old boy who, with gestures and facial expressions alone, describes the destruction of his hometown in northern Syria by ISIL in 2015. The trauma contained in the boy’s small body is beyond the reach of language.

Another classroom in the school is dedicated to the exuberantly detailed drawings of Andrea Joyce Heimer. By giving her colourful figurative panels extremely long titles, the artist unfolds succinct yet rich and intimate stories about childhood and adolescence, filled with humour, anxiety, longing, and projected selves.

Public spaces feature a number of biennial works and events. One of the works on display belongs to Burçak Bingöl, an artist known for using ceramics and ornamentation in her works. In her series, Follower, the artist makes a critical interpretation of the surveillance culture of today by decorating the surveillance cameras, which have gradually become one of the common sights of cities in the last ten years, with plant patterns she collected from Beyoğlu. Besides, the artist Ugo Rondinone participates in the 15th Istanbul Biennial with his neon sculpture Where Do We Go From Here? (2007–17),  which belongs to his Rainbow Poems series and is an adaptation of his work first shown at the 6th Istanbul Biennial in Taksim Square. The Public Programme is coordinated by artist Zeyno Pekünlü and encompasses a variety of events and discussions related to the concept of a good neighbour.

The curators, Elmgreen & Dragset urge both artists and viewers to contemplate on the role of art, the spaces it fills, and what can be expected of it in politically fraught times. It is sad to consider that two days before the biennial’s public opening, news came out of Turkey’s signing a landmark missile deal with Russia, pointing to president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s clear pivot away from NATO and Europe, and with it concerns about the strained and fragile coexistence of neighbouring peoples along the country’s borders.

Words and Images By Dimitrios Spyrou

Art Historian | Curator | Art Critic

Mahmoud Obaidi, "Make War Not Love," 2013-2015, Mixed Media on Canvas

Alper Aydin, "D8M," 2017, Bulldozer Blade & Trees

'Cereal Eater': Grear Patterson at Ellis King | Elly Collins

Tucked away in an unsuspecting business park in Dublin’s Southside, Ellis King offers an intriguing contemporary environment and gallery display space. Opening in 2014, the industrial warehouse turned white cube space offers a refreshing minimalist zone for both established and emerging artists to exhibit. The white walls are complimented by black flooring and a pointed roof complete with exposed beams and fluorescent lighting. Having more recently been divided into two separate display spaces, Ellis King often uses this division of space to host two simultaneous exhibitions. Approaching each section differently, the subdivision of the space enables the gallery to diversify the works, artists and themes on show.  These two distinct display spaces can also both be devoted to an extensive collection of work by a singular artist, as is the case in the current show Grear Patterson’s Cereal Eater.

Entering Ellis King, a narrow hallway guides the viewer into the first gallery space, a spacious room decorated with a myriad of objects mounted on twenty white plinths. The first exhibition space explores an impressive range of media and materials across twenty-two individual artworks.  The plinths are placed in the centre of the room, creating an interactive rectangular shape. Spaces between each artwork allow for the visitor to weave in and around Patterson’s intriguing displays, inspecting them from all angles. Beginning in a clockwise progression, we are first greeted by Eyes Over Flesh (2017). Comprised of a Cookie Monster cookie jar and a pocket telescope, the first artwork gives an insight into the mind and practice of Grear Patterson.

Eyes Over Flesh (2017) 

I Promise (2017) *

Cookier for Aristotle (1965 Year Old Cookie) (2017) *

You're Not Alone (2017) *

Patterson’s use of pop culture commodities as well as personal items probe into the artist’s childhood and adolescent memories and explore the complexities of identity, authority and personal experience throughout Cereal Eater. The diverse materials, objects and practices incorporated by Patterson in the exhibition offer a reflection of the convoluted intricacies often attributed to personal memory and  identity.  A combination of real and imagined, memory can become almost surreal as it is remembered. Throughout Patterson’s twenty sculptures many narratives and visual images are explored. Toy figurines, a mailbox, an AoL messenger conversation, a pinball machine, walkie talkies and Canadian goose feet are just some of the items you can expect to find while delving into the world of Grear Patterson’s personal journey and artistic practice. Many of the sculptures are self-evident such as Cookier for Aristotle (1695 Year Old Cookie) (2017) where a Pillsbury Dough Boy cookie jar dominates the stand, and I Promise (2017) and You’re Not Alone (2017) see General Electric walkie talkies placed directly opposite one another in the rectangular configuration.  The collective sculptural pieces like Harrison’s Broken Arm (2017), Blackjack, Not Chess (2017), and Kelsey Ream & Flying Alone (2017) provoke the viewer’s sense of childlike curiosity. Inviting us to look closer and inspect, these more intricate works encourage us to return to a perhaps bygone fascination with toys and trinkets.

Harrison's Broken Arm (2017)

Blackjack, Not Chess (2017)

Kelsey Ream & Flying Alone (2017)

Moving into the second room, we are confronted by six large customized Printed Circuit Boards. Mounted on aluminum, the boards make a nod to video gaming culture and the presence it holds in many young people’s lives. Tucked away in a corner, Bedroom Solace (2017) also sees the enlargement of a common Americanized childhood pastime - baseball cards. The confined space recreates the atmosphere of a teenage bedroom, with posters covering the walls. Both the PCB boards and the baseball card posters alter the viewer’s understanding of size in relation to these objects. By enlarging these artworks Patterson almost shrinks the viewer and their perceptions. In doing so, he arguably transforms our viewpoint to that of a child, where things appear larger in comparison with our shortened height and smaller presence.

Installation view of Printed Circuit Board series and Bedroom Solace (2017) *

From retro objects and childhood ephemera, to crunching Cheerios under your feet, Cereal Eater challenges the viewer's preconceived notions about an art space. As the idea of the art space as an untouchable and unattainable sanctuary full of valuable and complex works gradually becomes outdated, we as viewers are still largely hesitant to interact with artworks unless explicitly informed to do so. Spaghetti Westerns and Nights Alone (2017) invites visitors to crunch, play, and eat (if you are brave enough) the one hundred boxes of Cheerios which cover a the smallest display space in Ellis King. Following a trail of crumbs and the smell of Original and Honey Nut Cheerios you are welcomed to enter the space. Spaghetti Westerns and Nights Alone confronts a number of your senses by immersing you in an enclosed space which starkly contrasts with the immaculate appearance of the rest of the gallery. For many, memories are frequently recalled through a certain sound, song, smell, taste. The versatility of memory and how they can re-enter our minds are beautifully reconstructed in Spaghetti Westerns and Nights Alone. The piece is accompanied by a audio visual piece entitled Cereal Eater (2005). The video which was shares the exhibition’s title was created by Patterson in his teens and records the friendship of two young men in a short dreamlike narrative.

Spaghetti Westerns and Nights Alone (2017)

Cereal Eater (2017)

With Cereal Eater Grear Patterson encourages a playful, interactive and inquisitive approach to his artworks and the gallery space. By using objects and imagery lifted from pop culture, much of the exhibition’s visual presence is familiar to visitors. Obliterating any aspect of pretentiousness associated with contemporary practice, Patterson creates a lively and mischievous space while exploring his own identity and personal memory through the selected works.  Complementing the unconventional space and location of Ellis King, Grear Patterson challenges the visitor’s attitude towards the art space and his work through his interrogation into personal experience.

I Really Didn't Want to School You (2017)

Playing at Grandma's (2017)

Paramount Hotel (2017)

Cereal Eater runs until June 17. 

For more information:

http://ellisking.net/grear-patterson-cereal-eater/

Words by Elly Collins

* Images marked courtesy of ellisking.net/grear-patterson-cereal-eater/

Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane | Elly Collins

Pierre-Auguste Renoir & Auguste Rodin on display at The Hugh Lane

Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane is a staple of the Ireland's gallery scene. Funded by the Dublin City Council, the Hugh Lane is a public gallery located on Parnell Square North. The gallery itself hosts a variety of works from Irish painters and Impressionists to contemporary works of art.

The main entrance leads the viewer into a neo-classical town house which has been home to the gallery since 1933. In the first few rooms of the old wing, the gallery boasts a collection of both acclaimed international and Irish artists. Manet, Renoir, Degas, and Monet decorate the rooms of the Hugh Lane. A striking introduction to the gallery’s collection, the opening room aligns the gallery with its contemporaries around Europe. The following room hosts a number of Irish artists including Sean Keating, Sir John Lavery, and Jack B. Yeats. For those unfamiliar with Irish artists of the 19th and 29th Century, the Hugh Lane provides a impressive overview of the most acclaimed painters of this time. However, despite the interesting collection of modern and older works, The Hugh Lane also hosts a number of contemporary artists.

Northern Irish artist William McKeown’s dominates a small room just off the beautiful foyer with sparse artworks which subtly vary in tone. Noted for his room installations, McKeown’s Connemara series (2010) dominates over half of the room stretching from one curved wall to the next. The stillness of gallery compliments the varying gradients of refined colour used in McKeown’s paintings creating a peaceful chamber for the late artist’s work.

William McKeown, Connemara series, 2010.

Dorothy Cross, Shark in a Ballgown, 1988.

Moving further into the gallery artist’s such as Paul Seawright, Dorothy Cross, Richard Tuttle and Brian Duggan decorate the wall and floor spaces. Dorothy Cross’s Shark Lady in a Balldress (1988) explores the artist’s interest in the natural world and wilderness through a highly symbolic sculptural work. A traditionally threatening beast is dressed in a frilly ball gown, which alters the viewer’s previous perceptions and makes us question the meaning of the work.

Paul Seawright’s photographic works depict scenes from one of the most densely populated cities in the world; Lagos, Nigeria. Seawright’s work avoids the comfortable and familiar, instead opting to visually depict the viewer’s anxieties about the scenes he captures. Invisible Cities: Mist and Untitled (Woman) (2005) show scenes of urban life unfamiliar to a Western audience influenced by the media’s representation of the African continent.

Paul Seawright,  Invisible Cities: Mist and Untitled (Woman), 2005.

Richard Tuttle, 5th Cycle, 6th Cycle, 7th Cycle, 8th Cycle, 1994.

A small collection of Richard Tuttle’s work can also be found at the Hugh Lane. As one of America’s most significant working artists Tuttle has exhibited all over the globe. With works varying from small intimate pieces to larger installations such as I Don’t Know . The Weave of Textile Language in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.

Wall of Death Hell Rider (2009) by Irish artist Brian Duggan is based on the English wall of death rider Allan Ford. Depicted here on an Indian scout motorbike the rider is a metaphor for Duggan’s practice. When first exhibited in 2009 at the Hugh Lane as part of Step inside now step inside’ the work was believed to be both a continuation and departure of Duggan’s work.

Brian Duggan, Wall of Death Hell Rider, 2009.

The Hugh Lane is also home to the reconstructed Francis Bacon Studio. Moving to Dublin in 1998 from 7 Reece Mews in London, the studio consists of over 7,000 items which were removed and catalogued from the original room. Placing the items exactly as they were in 7 Reece Mews, a team of curators, archaeologists and conservators successfully reassembled  the studio in the Hugh Lane. In 2001 the Francis Bacon Studio complex opened to visitors. The complex includes a micro gallery, unfinished works, and an installation of Bacon’s interview with broadcaster Melvyn Bragg.

Liam Gillick, Perceived Lightness, 2016.

In the modern wing of the Hugh Lane more contemporary works are on display. Liam Gillick's Perceived Lightness (2016) could initially be understood as a seating area for rest and reflection. Originally part of a series of similar lacquered wood furniture on display in the Hugh Lane, Gillick's practice integrates design into the surroundings of each artwork. 

Elizabeth Magill's painted landscapes can also be found in the 2006 extension. Lodge (2) (2006) and Grayscale (2) (2005) celebrate Magill's depiction of landscape which she recalls from her youth in Antrim. Magill's signature style of familiar locations or images being transformed into slightly ominous and unsettling scenes is illustrated beautifully in these two works.

Elizabeth Magill, Lodge (2), 2006.

Elizabeth Magill, Grayscale (2), 2005.

The final work on my visit to The Hugh Lane was Willie Doherty's Ancient Ground  (2011). Doherty is celebrated for works which explore the difficulties and distortions which occur when representing reality. Filmed in County Donegal's peat bogs, Ancient Ground shows an absent landscape rather than a flourishing site of history. Doherty's practice and experience is shaped by his upbringing in Derry during the latter half of the 20th century, which saw a society harshly affected by political and religious issues.

Still from Willie Doherty, Ancient Ground, 2011.

All Images Taken by Author

Words by Elly Collins