23 artworks-1 common ground
When about two months ago, I received an email from the director of "BACK TO ATHENS 10", George Georgakopoulos, with the invitation-challenge to submit a curatorial proposal for the said event, I must admit that I was surprised. And that, maybe because I'm still not used to the curator role, or maybe even because I prefer to identify myself as a "collector" rather than a "curator"!
My initial reservations were quickly overcome when, a few days later, we spoke on the phone and George explained that what he was merely asking of me was simply to suggest a couple of artists, with the contribution of whom, a curatorial proposal could be put together, aligned with the philosophy and goals of BACK TO ATHENS 10. I immediately accepted to respond to his call, under the condition that, in accordance with my own steady collecting approach and philosophy, my proposal would constitute a proposal of "artworks" and not "artists". Indeed, at every opportunity that is offered to me, I never get tired of reiterating that I select works of art based primarily on the "artwork" and not the "signature"!
Hence, I decided to submit a curatorial proposal with 23 works, which are not necessarily characterized by a single visual "trend", a specific "style", or a certain "generation" of artists. The creators of the works I chose to include in my proposal, belong to different generations, as well as to radically different "schools" of visual creation. The youngest of them all (Vassilis Goumas) was born in Athens in 1991, while the oldest of them (John Christoforou) was born in London in 1921. Some of the creators in question, hold or have held posts as professors of fine arts, while others have been students of the former. Some of them are devotees of figurative painting, others prefer to express themselves in an expressionistic way, while still others have integrated digital technologies and the internet into their artistic practice.
Alas, the common thread that connects all the artworks that I have chosen to include in my curatorial proposal, is that despite their obvious differences, each of these works has the power to touch me and generate intense emotions in me! The main common feature of the works presented here is that, in them, I can "see" and empathize with the artist-creator, whom in almost all the cases in question, I have personally met (the only exception being John Christoforou [1921-2014]).
Many of these works happen to be "self-portraits" of the artists who created them. But even in those works that cannot be classified as such (for instance, among others, the works of Despina Flessa, Vassilis Goumas, Gerasimos Thomas or Konstantinos Kerestetzis), I can still "see" in them, as well as I can strongly feel the presence of Despina, Vassilis, Gerasimos or Konstantinos respectively. And this happens, because the above creators have managed to integrate in their specific works, vital elements of their personality, their soul, as well as their painting character!
The works participating in this curatorial proposal are, in alphabetical order, the creations of: Adrianos (Sotiris), Chronis Botsoglou, Katerina Chadoulou, John Christoforou, Despina Flessa, Dimitris Fragakis, Vangelis Gokas, Vassilis Goumas, Nikos Kaskouras, Theophilos Katsipanos, Konstantinos Kerestetzis, Penny Konstantinou, Alekos Kyarinis, Dimitris Lamprou, Vassilis Liaouris, Michalis Manousakis, Vassilis Perros, Angelo Plessas, Gerasimos Thomas, Thanasis Totsikas, Nikos Tranos, Giorgos Tserionis and Yiannis Valavanidis.
I am thankful to the above artists for their inspiring creations. I would also like to thank George Georgakopoulos, as well as all the contributors to BACK TO ATHENS 10, for the productive cooperation.
Kyriakos Tsiflakos
«23 artworks - 1 common ground» curated by Kyriakos Tsiflakosis realized in the context of Back to Athens 10: Geometry of racional, a review.
Back to Athens 10 International Art Meeting | 2023: Geometry of racional is curated by:
Georg Georgakopoulos, Fotini Kapiris, Christian Rupp.
Organised by APART Art Research and Applications.
Support/ participation: Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports [Financial support & Auspices for «Glorious Elements/Plastic Kisses»], City of Athens [Auspices], Austrian Embassy in Athens, Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur, öffentlichen Dienst und Sport, ZOIA, Land Tirol, Czech Center of Athens, CHEAPART, ARTmART, Modular expansion, Participation: Athens Intersection Cultural Program.
Back to Athens 10 International Art Meeting | 2023: Geometry of racional
Isaiah Mansion
65 Patission & Ioulianou, Athens, 104 33
Opening: Tuesday, June 28, 2023, 16:00 - 22:00
Duration: June 28 – July 2, 2023
Hours: Wednesday– Friday 16:00 - 22:00, Saturday – Sunday 12:00 – 22:00
