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24/3/2014

No Country for Young Men

Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts, Bruxelles

After Nautilus. Navigating Greece, BOZAR presents No Country for Young Men. Contemporary Greek Art in Times of Crisis, an exhibition which brings together the works of 32 contemporary Greek artists and collectives whose work explores the impact the economic crisis has had on their country. A new look at what is going on in Greece today.

Within the context of Focus on Greece, a multidisciplinary programme devoted to Greece, the Centre for Fine Arts and the curator, Katerina Gregos, are pleased to present an exhibition, which probes the crisis in Greece through the new or recent work of a wide variety of contemporary artists. The exhibition looks beyond the abstract nature of economic figures or statistics, and zooms in on the humanitarian and social dimension that the crisis has engendered. No Country for Young Men is the most significant exhibition of contemporary art for 10 years outside of Greece and the first of its kind on the crisis.

Katerina Gregos’ work as a curator has consistently focussed, over the years, on subjects such as democracy, politics, the economy and human rights. With No Country for Young Men, the curator aims to question the almost one-dimensional perception of the crisis in Greece created by the stereotypical representations conveyed by the media. The exhibition No Country for Young Men explores the state of affairs in Greece today, complicating the question of the crisis and shedding light on how it has affected the Greek people, the social body, institutions, landscape and environment, as well as artistic production. The exhibition reflects the social and economic reality and pays special attention to the dramatic transformations that have occurred in light of the crisis. The project also focuses on small initiatives and collectives that have sprung up as a reaction to the hardship, manifesting a kind of creative resistance, and testifying to the power of the artistic imagination. However, the critical nature of the Greek crisis is not something that concerns only the Greeks. It is symptomatic of a wider as well as European malaise, and can be considered a pars pro toto for the global picture (albeit in its most extreme form).

32 artists and collectives, from different generations, have been selected for the pertinence of their work in a historically and politically crucial moment for Greece and Europe as a whole. The work presented in the exhibition is either newly produced or recently made, reflecting the artists’ engagement with this precarious moment for the country. The exhibition is a lively, kaleidoscopic, sometimes explosive but also humorous or poetic visual patchwork that reflects Greece’s turbulent times and generates a sense of urgency, vitality, affectivity and emotive power. It is conceived of a visual essay; as one totality with an overarching theme but with different sub-texts and thematic strands pertaining to the effects but also causes of the crisis.

But No Country for Young Men also strikes a positive note. According to Katerina Gregos: “There is always hope. In spite of the gravity of the events, the present moment offers a very significant opportunity to address our flaws, to re-invent the country and to imagine things differently. In this respect, the Greek crisis should not be seen as a deadlock but as an opportunity to rethink the future of the country.”

The design
The exhibition, designed by Danae Giamalaki, consists of architecture in the form of a labyrinth, which enables the visitor to move around a maze-like circuit with multiple choices. Inspired by the complexity of the Horta building, the distribution of the space leads the visitor down multiple routes. A journey between an imaginary start and finish sometimes leaves the viewers disoriented. Visitors walk between and along paths, some of which lead to dead ends, and navigate the sharp tunnel-like wedges dissecting the rooms. The spaces thus act as a spatial metaphor for the nature of the Greek crisis.


The artists
This maze is home to the recent creations by 32 artists in diverse media. There are, on the one hand, artists who deal with social and political reality in a very direct way, through socially engaged practices of a documentary, activist, or confrontational nature. There are also artists who deal with the issue in much more indirect, allegorical, metaphorical or suggestive ways. Visually, the work on view ranges from the narrative and the figurative, to the more abstract and the conceptual.

The complete list of artists is in annex.

Satellite exhibition
BOZAR and the Atelier Bouwmeester also welcome a satellite project, an exhibition of the collective Depression Era. The Depression Era project is a collective of photographers, artists, researchers, writers, architects, journalists and curators formed in 2012, recording the Greek crisis through images and texts. It was originally inspired by the photographic program of the Farm Security Administration, which was designed to capture the impact of the Great Depression on the American people (1935–1944). The Depression Era project exhibition takes place at the Atelier Bouwmeester, just across the street from BOZAR at 54-59 Galerie Ravenstein, and will be the first international presentation of the collective outside Greece.

Biography of the curator
Katerina Gregos is a Greek-born curator and writer, based in Brussels since 2006. She has curated numerous large-scale projects in Belgium and abroad (Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain), including, more recently: Speech Matters for the Danish pavilion on the occasion of the 54th Venice Biennial (2011). Gregos also co- curated the 4thFotofestival in Germany (2011) and was a member of the curatorial team for Manifesta 9 and the European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Genk (2012). She was also curator of the major exhibition Newtopia: The State of Human Rights in Mechelen and Brussels (2012). As an independent curator, she curated Contour 2009 - the 4thBiennial of Moving Image (Mechelen) –the E V+ A Biennial, Limerick, Ireland (2006), and numerous other projects. In 2013, Katerina Gregos was also the curator of Politics of Play for the Göteborg International Biennial in Sweden and co-curator of Liquid Assets: In the Aftermath of the Transformation of Capital for the Steirischer Herbst Festival, Graz, Austria. Gregos was a founding director and curator of the Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art in Athens (1997-2002) and artistic director of Argos - Centre for Art & Media – in Brussels (2006-2008). She currently holds the position of artistic director of Art Brussels and is a visiting lecturer at the HISK- The Higher Institute of Arts (Ghent).

LIST OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

LOUKIA ALAVANOU
Born in Athens in 1979. Lives and works in Gent.
www.loukiaalavanou.com

MANOLIS ANASTASAKOS & ALEXANDROS VASMOULAKIS
Born in Athens in 1977 and 1980 respectively. Live and work in Athens.
www.m-anastasakos.com
www.vasmou.com

BILL BALASKAS
Born in 1983 in Thessaloniki. Lives and works in London.
www.billbalaskas.com/

DEPRESSION ERA
Established in Athens in 2012.
http://depression_era.prosite.com/

EIRENE EFSTATHIOU
Born in Athens in 1980. Lives and works in Athens.
http://eireneefstathiou.com/eireneefstathiou/Eirene-Efstathiou.html

STELIOS FAITAKIS
Born in Athens in 1976. Lives and works in Athens.

MARINA GIOTI
Born in Athens in 1972. Lives and works in Athens.

ALEXANDROS GEORGIOU
Born in Athens in 1972. Lives and works in Athens.

PHILIPPE GRAMMATICOPOULOS
Born in Brussels in 1970. Lives and works in Paris.

GUERRILLA OPTIMISTS
Established in Athens in 2004.

MICHALIS G. KALLIMOPOULOS
Born in Athens in 1970. Lives and works in Athens.
www.kallimopoulos.com

DIONISIS KAVALLIERATOS
Born in Athens in 1979. Lives and works in Berlin.

PANOS KOKKINIAS
Born in Athens in 1965. Lives and works in Athens.
www.panos-kokkinias.com

ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS
Born in Athens in 1984. Lives and works in Athens.
www.alkis-konstantinidis.com/

ZISSIS KOTIONIS
Born in Athens in 1960. Lives and works in Volos.
www.kotionis.com

NICOLAS KOZAKIS & RAOUL VANEIGEM
Born, respectively in Liège (BE) in 1967 and Lessines (BE) in 1934.
Live and work in Brussels and Argentenay (FR)
http://nicolas-kozakis.blogspot.be/

NIKOS NAVRIDIS
Born in Athens in 1958. Lives and works in Athens.

OIKO-NOMIC THREADS
MARINOS KOUTSOMICHALIS, AFRODITI PSARRA & MARIA VARELA
Marinos Koutsomichalis was born in Athens in 1981. He lives and works in Herakleion.
www.marinoskoutsomichalis.com
Afroditi Psarra was born in Athens in 1982. She lives and works in Zurich.
http://afroditipsarra.blogspot.com
Maria Varela was born in Athens in 1984. She lives and works in Athens.
http://www.mariavarela.net

ANGELOS PAPADIMITRIOU
Born in Athens in 1952. Lives and works in Athens.

MARIA PAPADIMITRIOU
Born in Athens in 1957. Lives and works in Athens.
http://souzytros.wordpress.com/

ANTONIS PITTAS
Born in Athens in 1973. Lives and works in Amsterdam.
http://antonispittas.info/en/

POKA-YIO
Born in Athens in 1970. Lives and works in Athens.
www.poka-yio.com

STEFANIA STROUZA
Born in Pyros, Greece in 1982. Lives and works in Vienna and Athens.
www.stefaniastrouza.com/

LINA THEODOROU
Born in Athens in 1970. Lives and works in Berlin.
http://linatheodorou.wordpress.com

PANOS TSAGARIS
Born in Athens in 1979. Lives and works in New York.
http://panos-tsagaris.tumblr.com/

KOSTAS TSOLIS
Born in Athens in 1964. Lives and works in Athens.

DIMITRIS TSOUMPLEKAS
Born in Athens in 1967. Lives and works in Athens.
http://tsoumplekas.com/

CHRISA VALSAMAKI
Born in Athens in 1981. Lives and works in Athens.
http://chrisavalsamaki.com/

KOSTIS VELONIS
Born in Athens in 1970. Lives and works in Athens.
http://kostisvelonis.blogspot.be/

EIRINI VOURLOUMI
Born in Athens in 1979. Lives and works in Athens.
http://www.eiriniphoto.com

ZAFOS XAGORARIS
Born in Athens in 1963. Lives and works in Athens.
http://zafosxagoraris.net/

YORGOS ZOIS
Born in Athens in 1982. Lives and works in Athens.

Guided tours
Every last Thursday of the month (27.03, 24.04, 29.05 and 26.06) from 6pm to 9pm, a trilingual guide (EN, FR, NL) is at your disposal in the exhibition. This guide is there to give you a better understanding of the works.

Image: Panos Kokkinias, Yiorgis, 2011, 120x180 cm, digital Inkjet Print on Epson Archival Fine Art Matte, © Panos Kokkinias, courtesy the artist and Xippas Gallery

Déborah Motteux
Press Officer BOZAR EXPO & SHOP
T +32 (0)2 507 83 89 / +32 (0)471 95 14 60
deborah.motteux@bozar.be

Press conference on 25.03.2014

BOZAR
Centre for Fine Arts
Rue Ravenstein 23 -1000 Brussels
Opening hours
From Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am > 6 pm
Thursday: 10 am>9 pm
Closed on Monday
Free entry

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