Lillian Lykiardopoulou
dal 16/5/2008 al 27/6/2008
Segnalato da
16/5/2008
Lillian Lykiardopoulou
Qbox gallery, Athens
The artist derives her subject matter from objects and images that are well known or familiar and widely used. Her work involves both drawing and sculpture while the broad range of materials employed depends on the demands of each specific piece.
Qbox gallery is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Lillian
Lykardopoulou in Athens, entitled Loop ahead which will consist of installations and
drawings.
After graduating with honors in 2004 from the Athens School of Fine Arts the artist
received a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation and pursued an MFA in
painting/printmaking at the Yale School of Art. In 2007 she participated in group
exhibitions in Shanghai and in the Gwangiu Museum of Art in S. Korea while in 2005
she represented Greece in the Biennale of Young Artists in Naples, Italy. She has
also been a research scholar of the Stavros S. Niarchos foundation.
Lilian Lykiardopoulou derives her subject matter from objects and images that are
well known or familiar and widely used. Her work involves both drawing and sculpture
while the broad range of materials employed depends on the demands of each specific
piece. Order and power relationships, as portrayed in the world of sports, are two
issues addressed in a recent work titled Loop ahead. Subjects such as normalcy,
hierarchy and the power of imposition are treated with caustic humor while hegemonic
images and preconceptions are turned upside down.
In her installation Assymetric Endeavor a gazelle is standing on top of a lion-skin
rug. In the background there is a photograph of the gazelle with the lion-skin
wrapped around its neck standing in an athletics stadium. In the words of the
artist, they constitute a “double inverse”. In a playful remix of the myth of
Hercules, the weak has taken over and become the strong, showing off the trophy, and
becoming a myth itself. Both animals are made from synthetic materials and their
natural dimensions create an uncanny presence that surprises
the viewer.
A solo running track adjusted to the size of the gallery space: an all-weather track
made solely for indoor use alludes to the struggle to overcome self in an atomized
society while running in circles. A swerving bowling lane; at the end of the
corridor there is a mirror behind five glass pins stuffed with feathers. When the
bowling ball hits, the strike will be disastrous for the piece, the mirrors and the
pins smashed and the feathers freed. Its attraction lies in its immanent
destruction, in the playful desire of the viewer to set the heavy bowling ball
in motion.
Through the merging of images and sculptures, the artist succeeds in derailing their
established meanings or their proper use. Lillian Lykiardopoulou's work is about a
constant questioning of “norms” on a visual, cultural, personal or political level;
she re-examines what our modern society perceives as normal and abnormal.
Essay by Sotirios Bahtsetzis
Opening: Saturday, 17 May 2008, 19:00 - 23:00
Qbox gallery
Armodiou 10, Varvakios agora - Athens
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Friday 15:00-21:00, Saturday 12:00-16:00 or by appointment
Free admission