ΠΡΟΚΑΤ

ΠΡΟΚΑΤ = Prokat = Prefab. 

Abbreviation of Greek word prokataskevasmenos = prefabricate

at_Hellenic American Union

In 1913, four years before creating his infamous Fountain, Marcel Duchamp presented the "Bicycle Wheel", his first ready-made work of art. Ready-mades essentially challenged conventional notions about visual arts as manual labor and originality of creation were no longer prerequisites for the production of works of art. On the occasion of 100 years since the premiere of "Bicycle Wheel", the “Research group of artists for the first ready-made century” attempts to reexamine the applications and various manifestations of the ready-made in 21st century art. [ info ]

The “Research group of artists for the first ready-made century” is comprised of: Andreas Vousouras, Apostolos Zerdevas, Irini Karayannopoulou, Babis Karalis, Maria Lianou, Iliodora Margellou, Thanasis Moutsopoulos, Kamilo Nollas, Konstantinos Patsios, Panos Skouloudis, and Giorgos Tserionis.

May's Exhibitions I

2+2=5
Konstantinos Pettas, Foteini Chandra
23.05.2012 – 3.06.2012

 

3137 invites you at the show “2+2=5” which is an attempt to negate the notion of self-evident truth. It describes how assumptions can be perceived as “ the truth”, depending on which social environment they are presented in. The exhibition explores how two different parts stop functioning individually but as a whole. The works are being created to be presented in the same space so as to be completed through their coexistence and interaction.

 

Biomorphic forms are the common reference point of the two artists. Konstantionos Pettas investigates the relationship between objects and mental processes. Through the representation of inaccessible symbols he examines the relationship of humans with supernatural and devotion. He questions in which extent faith, knowledge and dogma are socially valid in our days and if they remain indisputable. With reference to internal elements of the human body Foteini Chandra creates volumes out of fabric that develop in space. She investigates the relationship between the internal and the external and how it is reversed when revealing what lies beneath the surface.

 

Once upon a sponge

10.05 - 16.06.12 

TAF presents the exhibition Once upon a sponge by Papairlines, until the 16th of June 2012.

The exhibition Once upon a sponge aims to showcase the different perspectives of design. Design is not just encountered in windows of high-end shops, but also something we experience and interact with on a daily basis: from a sign and a widely recognisable piece of furniture to a love note and a D.I.Y. object that adapts random and accessible materials. Design is about identifying, analysing and solving problems in our everyday life as well as commenting on social phenomena and behaviours.

 

 

For the exhibition Once upon a sponge, 20 designers conceptualise and construct unexpected and imaginative narrative objects with the final destination being to show and tell stories through the use of the iconic yellow sponge. The sponge, a neglected everyday object, transforms into a construction material for the passengers - designers of Papairlines who are invited to redefine the form and the established use of the sponge in order to challenge the perception of the public. The objects emerging from this process will be landing in TAF.

 

At the same time a collection of photographs showcases a series of spontaneous, D.I.Y objects, created by non-design professionals, who at a lack of resources, creatively subvert existing objects to solve problems and overcome design weaknesses.

Papairlines is a creative platform that focuses on exposing the methodologies and process behind all things designed: from an experience to a product and a service with which we interact, inadvertently or not, on a daily basis.

 

Participating designers

157+173 Designers, Ritsa Αnastasiadou, Marcia Argyriades, Christina Billiouri, Angela Chrissaiti, CTRLZAK, DEDE Dextrous Design, Jazzt Design, Kanella, Sotiris Lazou, Vassilis Mylonadis, Kikos Papadopoulos, Stathis Petropoulos, Kallirroy Spyridonos, Zaxos Stathopoulos, Marc Schulthess, Wedid-ID, Alexandros Xanthakis

Curating: Papairlines / Loukas Angelou, Vasso Asfi, Costas Bissas

Apousia (Absence)

Konstantina Katrakazou was inspired by the theme of absence after a long period of philosophical research with the rest of the members of an interdisciplinary group consisting of Fay Zika, Louiza Karapidaki, Thanassis Hatzopoulosand the artist herself.

 

Through her installation the artist explored the transformation of absence into presence. Beginning with death, a form of absence so radical and taboo one refrains from speaking of it, all forms of absence nowadays tend to be invalidated.

 

 

In that installation the artist used various media to explore the concept of absence, primarily in terms of lack of communication and to confront us with another dimension of the idea of absence. Her point of reference is the contradiction of an absent-present person.

 

The exhibition/installation "Apousia" (Absence) is followed by an open discussion on the topic of absence in various fields, a poetry evening, and a guided tour by the artist and the curator. Art historian Louisa Karapidaki curated the exhibition.

Photographic Pairs 2012

 

Each exhibition in series Photographic Pairs features the work of two photographers, both members of the Photography Circle, whose paths in life or photography cross.

 

 

The new photographic pair are Lukas Vasilikos and Christina Sorovou, whose friendship emerged from their shared passion for the art of photography.

 

Sorovou’s black and white photographs are of friends and family while Vasilikos’ color photographs mainly depict street scenes.

 

The pairing of these photographers is justified not only in light of the friendship they share but also because of similarities in the way they have developed as photographers. That said, their work as photographers bears the marks of their distinct personalities.

[ source ]

 

Lukas Vasilikos 
He was born in 1975 at Heraklion, Crete. In 1996 he moved to Athens where he still lives and works.
In 2006 he joined the photography seminar of Manos Lykakis and that's how he entered the photography world. From then on, he focused on street photography which is his real passion.

 

 

He has participated at group exhibitions at Greece and Istanbul. During 2009 he participated at Athens Photo Festival at the group exhibition "New Greek Photographers" and during 2010 he participated at Athens Photo Festival with an individual exhibition. During 2011 he participated with individual exhibition at the "Kithira Photography Meeting". His photos have been presented in 4 photography publications, along with other photographers. Since 2008, he is a member of Platon Rivellis "Photo Circle".

[ website ]

 

 

Christina Sorovou

Christina Sorovou was born in 1973 . She studied Informatics at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki. She now lives and works in Athens. In 2008 she attended the Platon Rivellis Seminar on Creative Photography which is how she became acquainted with the world of photography. Since then, she has been a member of Photocircle. She has participated in several exhibitions in Athens, Crete and New York . In 2012 she presented her work at the Hellenic American Union in Athens together with Lukas Vasilikos, at the exhibition: “Photographic Pairs”. 

[ website ]

Muzeum Kresow

 

 Contemporary Art from the Collection of the Muzeum Kresow

Presentation of the the art collection of the Muzeum Kresow of Poland with artworks by contemporary Polish artists.

The unique feature of the Muzeum Kresow collection is that it consists of the award-winning works from the Triennale organized every three years by the Muzeum Kresow and retained in its collection. Throughout its duration the Triennale presents artists who express themselves in many different and often disparate artistic idioms. The works are predominantly minimalist in style, with often austere geometric or exceptionally abstract forms. Curator of the exhibition is Louisa Karapidaki, art historian and member of the critic’s panel of the Triennale.

The exhibition is presented with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Athens on the occasion of the cultural program of the Polish E.U. Presidency.

Participating Artists

1993 Stanislaw Gorecki, Stanislaw Filipczuk , Bogdan Topor, Maria Skowronska, Ryszard Otreba, Jedrzej Golas

1996 Jerzy Kutkowski, Adam Kirchner, Maria Ferenc, Bogumil Lukaszewski, Henryk Hoffman, Jerzy Gluszek, Ewa Ciszewska – Bombska

1999 Tadeusz G. Wiktor, Aleksander Olszewski, Slawomir Antoszewski

2002 Apoloniusz Weglowski, Andrzej Grenda

2005 Joanna Wiszniewska - Domanska, Wlodzimierz Pawlak, Michael Misiak, Dorota Komar - Zmyslony, Pawel Warchol, Marta Tomczyk, Daniel Krysta, Stanislaw R. Kortyka, Przemyslaw Kmiec, Joanna Janowska - Augustyn, Cyprian Bielaniec, Dorota Grynczel

2008 Jaroslav Grulkowski, Andrzej Prokopiuk, Violetta Kulikowska - Parkasiewicz, Jeremi Jedros, Jacek Jaroszewski, Slawomir Grabowy, Ryszard Gancarz, Jan Ferenc

Eight

George Tserionis presented 4/8 of his recent work which consists of large-scale installations, collages, and constructions of an interactive and experiential nature.

Curator of the exhibition was the art historian Louisa Karapidaki, who points out in her commentary:

“The number ‘Eight’ refers to the eight key Greek words and respectively to eight corresponding units that are represented by the eight letters of the word, ELEUSINA.

 Eight points of reference: E for the Greek word for access (Έλευση) via the sacred road, L for logos, in reference to mythology, E for overlapping (Επάλληλα) cultural strata, Y for industrial over-development (Υπέρ-ανάπτυξη) S for the registration (Σήμανση) of archival photographic material, I for stories (Ιστορίες) of the Resistance, N for the threads (Νήματα) of cultural information in contemporary archaeology and A for the restoration (Ανάκτηση) of memory after loss.”

After on-site research, interviews, observations, and markings, the artist presents a vertical and horizontal approach to the cultural material of Eleusina, offered through the viewpoint of the human factor.

The presentation of ‘Eight’ at the Hellenic American Union was the forerunner to the exhibition which will be presented in its entirety at the Leonidas Kanellopoulos Cultural Center in Eleusina.

War - Choro-graphy

The Hellenic American Union presented the exhibitions:  Choro-graphy: In Search of the New American Landscape

 

and Martial Arts as part of the Athens Photo Festival 2011 and in cooperation with the Hellenic Centre for Photography.

 

The exhibition Martial Arts brought together the visual typography of “An Alphabet of War” and the triptych,

 

“Warheads” of photographer and illustrator Victor Koen. The two series examines the ugly side of armed conflict from various visual standpoints.

Ernest Hemingway: From Life to Fiction

 

 

 

In cooperation with the Museum of the Hellenic Nobel Collection, the Hellenic American Union organized an exhibition was dedicated to the American Nobel prize-winning writer Ernest Hemingway entitled

Ernest Hemingway: From Life to Fiction.

The exhibition was organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death.

Ernest Hemingway’s life and work was presented through photos and rare audio-visual material for the first time in Greece.

In Limbo

Hellenic American Union, 5 – 5 – 2011, 20.30

Composer and musicologist Christos Mitsakis conducted the Hellenic Ensemble of Contemporary Music in a concert of music, video and theater, entitled "Music Plus". Where Sofia Koubli presented her recent work entitled: "In Limbo"

Sofia studied classical piano, Harmony, Counterpoint, Fugue, Composition, Jazz Harmony and Music Technology at Philipos Nakas Conservatory, Athenaeum Conservatory and Orfeo conservatory.

Since 1999 she composes music for Theater, Video Art and short movies.

Her works have been performed by various chamber music ensembles, including the Hellenic Ensemble of Contemporary Music - Conductor Theodore Antoniou.

Here is the video: "In Vivo"

Video by Fotis Tsakos / Music by Sofia Koubli / Photography by Petros Koublis