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8/9/2014

Reverb

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Boston, MA (August 6, 2014)— Greece’s recent political and social turmoil has had profound effects on the country’s cultural landscape, creating shifting notions about its identity. September 9–October 18, 2014, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA), will showcase eleven emerging and mid-career Greek artists for the exhibition “Reverb: New Art from Greece” in the School’s Barbara and Steven Grossman Gallery.

“Reverb,” guest curated by SMFA alumna Eirene Efstathiou and independent curator Evita Tsokanta, will present a wide range of artistic forms and trends illustrating the way artists interpret the reverberations of social, political, and economic conditions during this crucial time in Greece’s history. Exploring themes such as the appropriation of history and found objects, “Reverb” will present an authentic view of the way citizens of Greece have experienced recent history, in stark contrast to the way the media and political leaders have depicted the situation.

The eleven artists, many of whom live and work in Athens, will exhibit both existing work and pieces specially commissioned, including photography, video, painting, and mixed media installations. A series of parallel events will promote exchanges between the artists and the SMFA community, such as a special film screening of “History Zero” and conversation with Stefanos Tsivopoulos, who represented Greece at the 2013 Venice Biennale; video chats; curatorial talks; and more.

Loukia Alavanou’s Duckator appropriates images from sources including Soviet, Nazi, and American propaganda films, Disney cartoons from the 1930s and 1940s, and contrasts them with images of muted personal narration by the artist’s grandmother who has Alzheimer's disease. By juxtaposing different narrations of the past, Alavanou aims to open a discourse concerning memory and the formation of identities through manipulated accounts of history.

Anastasia Douka’s practice pursues conceptual deconstruction and subsequent physical reconstruction of objects as a metaphor for the archetypal cycle of production, of success and failure, and ultimately continuity. In Bad Blood_Sentiments of a Giant, she plays with anatomies, natural and fabricated, to empirically prove her hypothesis that everything constructed can potentially break, be reconstructed and repurposed, and then break once again.

Eirene Efstathiou explores how found media images can resonate beyond their original newsworthy nature. We Are Not (Just) an Image on TV is a meditation on memory and the public sphere, focusing on instances of dissent and civil unrest from Athens in the 1990s. A Partial Map of the Social Unrest in Athens is a map marked with routes or points of demonstrations, collisions, and occupied spaces that have occurred from 1973-2012. By combining the events out of context in one location, she challenges the sequential nature of official history.

In When he returned, he was not a child anymore I and II Andreas Ragnar Kassapis explores the relationship between collective and individual memory, referencing events of recent Greek history that although have been collectively obscured by time, remain a personal beacon to him. His approach to painting, rather than referencing the long tradition of painting as a reiteration of images of power, is used to quietly observe and understand.

Dimitris Papoutsakis investigates the border between analog and digital worlds, surveying the shifting line between the tangible and the abstract. Newspaper with Five Hazy Days examines economic conditions in Greece by turning data about air pollution into a traditional newspaper format, giving abstract information substance. InOre Bounce, Papoutsakis combines refuse from Magnesite mining activities in central Greece with a digitally processed version of his own heartbeat creating a work commenting on waste and exertion, connecting these two metaphysical notions.

Eftihis Patsourakis’ Equivalence of Casualties series is constructed from discarded photographs from the late 1970s and early 1980s examining the social realities of the new middle class of the post-dictatorship era. Similarly, Horizon is a collage of four seascapes painted by anonymous artists, most likely amateurs, inviting viewers to confront the scenes and subjects, and by extension, the socio-political identities of the artists.

Nana Sachini’s sculptures are constructed from traditional sculptural media and found or discarded objects. They are marked by a gestural process that invokes the action of painting, revealing her preoccupation with the body as a means to define the self. Let no one enter who is unwilling to refute loneliness is an exploration of contemporary metaphysics, depicting a cycle of life: trials and tribulations leading to recuperation and rebirth.

Yorgos Sapountzis’ performances and videos explore sculptures in urban contexts, testing the parameters of public behavior, collapsing the distinction between public and private space. Knock, Knock Monument, in which Sapountzis creates a head piece mad of his mother’s porcelain figurines—a monument of the private, personal sphere—and wears it out on the public streets of Athens, playfully scrutinizes the value of the content of collective memory.

Vangelis Vlahos’ work in the exhibition references the Koskotas scandal, a major political and financial scandal that dominated Greek political life in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Objects to relate to a trial (3 suitcases, 2 travel bags, a typewriter and one colour TV) is meticulous study of a single found photograph of the transfer of Koskotas’ baggage at Athens International Airport at the time of his extradition from the United States and the central role that obfuscation plays in political life.

Paky Vlassopoulou explores the interplay between body and matter, creating opportunities for limitless personal projections onto the work. In Explosions in the Sky – Welcome, Ghosts a series of audio crescendos and diminuendos simulate an out of body experience for the viewer, which is a stark contrast to the painstaking and physical work Vlassopoulou tackled to create the piece—from casting the roofing tiles to tearing encyclopedia pages one by one.

Myrto Xanthopoulou creates fragile, poetic microcosms inspired by the minute details and barely noticeable sentiments from everyday objects and thoughts. She humorously plays with words inverting their phonetic and semantic characters to create lyrical ironies that act as armor against the cynical view of her references. The installation Beers, tangerines and ruins combines everyday, seemingly unlinked, Athenian moments to sketch out a portrait of contemporary Greek youth.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Loukia Alavanou (b.1979, Athens, Greece) lives and works in Athens and London and is currently completing an artist residency at HISK, Ghent, Belgium. She received a BA in Fine Art from Byam Shaw School of Art, London, a Postgraduate Diploma from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, and a MA from the Royal College of Art, London. She has had solo exhibitions at Upload Art Project, Trento, Italy; Rodeo Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey; National Theater, Athens; upstairs Berlin, Germany; and Haas & Fischer Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland. Group exhibitions include “No Country For Young Men,” BOZAR, Brussels, Belgium (2014); “Body Memory,” State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece (2014); “Hell As Pavilion,” Palais De Tokyo, Paris, France (2013); “Visual Dialogues,” Plato’s Academy Recreation Parke, Onassis Cultural Center, Athens (2012); and “Volcano Extravaganza,” Fiorucci Art Trust, Stromboli, Italy (2011). Alavanou was awarded the Deste Prize in 2007 and was nominated for the KINO DER KUNST Project Award (2013) and the Paul Hamlin Award for Visual Artists (2008).

Anastasia Douka (b.1979, Athens, Greece), lives and works in Athens. She received her BFA and MA in Digital Arts from the Athens School of Fine Arts and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has had two solo exhibitions (Loraini Alimantiri Gazonrouge Gallery, Athens) and roup exhibitions include “The Four Horsemen,” St. Sylvester Gymnasium, Chicago, USA (2014); Exquisite Corpse, National Veterans Art Museum, Chicago, USA (2014); “Near Dwellers,” Russell Industrial Center, Detroit, USA (2013); and “Pierrot Le Fou,” Alte Saline, Hallein, Austria (2012). She has been shortlisted and granted numerous awards and fellowships including Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship (2013) and the Claire Rosen & Samuel Edes Foundation Prize (2013) (finalist).. In 2011 she was awarded the Deste Foundation Prize. Douka is currently in residence at the Yaddo Colony in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA.

Eirene Efstathiou (b.1980, Athens, Greece) lives and works in Athens. She received her BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Tufts University in 2003 and was awarded an SMFA Traveling Fellowship2004. In 2010 she received her MA from the Athens School of Fine Art where she is currently a PhD candidate. Efstathiou has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Europe and the United States. Her recent solo exhibitions include, “Kiafa,” Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens (2014); “Memories of the Present,” MOT International, Brussels, Belgium (2013); and “Iera Odos Revisited,” Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens (2011). Recent group exhibitions include, “No Country for Young Men,” Bozar, Brussels, Belgium (2014); “The System of Objects,” DESTE Foundation, Athens (2013); “Vanishing Point,” Action Field Kodra, Thessaloniki, Greece (2012); and “A Perpetual Present,” Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, Maine, USA. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Deste Prize.

Andreas Ragnar Kassapis (b.1981, Athens, Greece) currently lives and works in Athens. Kassapis’s early work focused on pasting illustrative poster murals on the streets of Athens. After his studies at the Athens School of Fine Arts, he has had four solo shows (Loraini Alimantiri Gazonrouge Gallery, Athens and Vavel, Athens) and participated in group exhibitions in Greece and abroad including “HELL AS PAVILLION,” Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2013); “HEAVEN-2nd Athens Biennial” (2009); “Anathena,” Deste Foundation, Athens (2007); and “New Voices in Urban Art,” Phantom Galleries, Los Angeles, USA (2007). He has worked as a set designer and illustrator and in 2010 released a vinyl record soundscape project entitled Rooms in Negative.

Dimitris Papoutsakis (b.1978, Athens, Greece) is based in Athens. After completing a BA and Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Design and Design Leadership at Middlesex University, London, he received a BA from the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he is currently enrolled in the Masters in Digital Arts program. Papoutsakis’ group exhibitions include “Boundaries,” Snehta residency, Athens (2014); “Re-culture 2,” International Arts Festival, Patras, Greece (2013); “Rooms,” Kappatos Gallery, Athens (2012); “Action Field Kodra,” Thessaloniki (2011); Loos Foundation, Hague, The Netherlands (2011); and “Visuals,” Stadsschouwburg Theatre, Nijmegen,Netherlands (2011).

Eftihis Patsourakis (b. 1967, Crete, Greece) currently lives and works in Athens. After completing studies at the Department of Conservation of Works of Art and Antiquities (University of Athens), he received a BA at the Athens School of Fine Arts and an MA at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London. He has had four solo shows (Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens, Rodeo Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey) and participated in group exhibitions in Europe and the United States including “Nautilus-Navigating Greece,” BOZAR, Brussels, Belgium (2014); “All That Shines Ain’t No Gold,” Rodeo Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2012); and “Double Double,” Workplace Gallery, Gateshead, UK (2011). He was shortlisted for the Deste Foundation Prize in 2011.

Nana Sachini (b.1975, Thessaloniki, Greece) currently lives and works in Athens. She holds a BA from the Thessaloniki School of Fine Arts and a MA from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London. She has had three solo exhibitions in Athens (a.antonopoulou.art and Remap4). Recent exhibitions include the “4th Thessaloniki Biennial,” Thessaloniki State Museum of Contemporary Art, Greece (2014); “The transparency of sex,” Old Hospital, Amphissa, Greece (2013); “Against Lethe,” Mail Art Project Exhibition, 5th International Conference on Typography and Visual Communication, Nicosia, Cyprus (2013); “Symbiosis?,” XV Biennale de la Mediterranee, Thessaloniki, Greece (2011); and “3rd Thessaloniki Biennale” (2011).She is a founding member of the live art group collective, KangarooCourt.

Yorgos Sapountzis (b.1976, Athens, Greece) currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Sapountzis initially studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts and eventually graduated the Berlin University of Arts. Solo exhibitions include Freymond-Guth Fine Arts, Zurich, Switzerland (2013); Arnolfini, Bristol, UK (2013); Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland (2013); Kunsthalle Lingen, Germany (2013); Institut for Samtidskunst, Copenhagen, Denmark (2012); Fondazione Morra Greco, Naples, Italy (2011); and Simone Subal Gallery, New York, United States (2011).Group exhibitions include “Whitney ISP: Common Spaces,” The Kitchen, New York, USA (2014); “Triennale Kleinplastik Fellbach - seit 1980,” Germany (2013); “Image into Sculpture,”,Espace 315, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2013); “Die Liebe ist kälter als das Kapital,” curated by Rudolf Sagmeister, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2013); and “PINK CAVIAR- New works in the Collection 2009–11,” Louisiana Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark (2012). He was shortlisted for the Deste Foundation Prize, Athens in 2009.

Vangelis Vlahos (b.1971, Athens, Greece) lives and works in Athens. Group shows include “Gesture,” Kunstverein Stuttgart, Germany (2014); “Europe / South East. Recorded Memories,” The Museum of Photography Braunschweig, Germany (2013); “Current Pasts,” National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2012); “The End of Money,” Witte de With, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2011); “MONODROME,” 3rd Athens Biennale (2011); “To the Arts, Citizens!,” Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal (2010); “tanzimat,” Augarten Contemporary, Vienna, Austria (2010); and the11th Istanbul Biennial, Turkey (2009).

Paky Vlassopoulou (b.1985, Athens, Greece) studied sculpture at the University of Ioannina and received her MFA at the Athens School of Fine Art. In 2012 she co-established and continues to co-direct the independent project space 3 137 in Exarcheia, Athens. Her group exhibitions include “A Thousand Doors,” Gennadius Library / The American School of Classical Studies, Athens, curated by Iwona Blazwick (2014); “A Fresh: A New Generation of Greek Artists,” National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2013); and “Un-built,” Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens (2008).

Myrto Xanthopoulou (b.1981, Helsinki, Finland) currently lives and works in Athens. She received her BA in Art History from Deree College, Athens) and graduated from the Athens School of Fine Arts. In 2013 Xanthopoulou had her first solo show, “Battleship,” at Elika Gallery, Athens. Her group shows include “A Fresh,” National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2013); “SYNTHESIS,” Francoise Heitsch Gallery, Munich, Germany (2013); “Action Field Kodra,” Thessaloniki, Greece (2013); and “...,” 3 317, Athens (2013). Xanthopoulou is an active member of the artist and theoreticians collective Kolectiva Omonoia and curated the group exhibition “how we draw a dog” (2012) at 3 137, an artist-run space in Athens. Her poetry has been published in Kaput and Teflon magazines.

ABOUT THE CURATORS

Eirene Efstathiou is an artist (MFA Athens School of Fine Arts; BFA Tufts University/SMFA) and recipient of numerous awards including the DESTE Prize in 2009 (Deste Foundation, Athens) and a Traveling Fellowship Award in 2003 (SMFA).

Evita Tsokanta is an art historian (MA King’s College London, UK; BA Rutgers University, USA). She lives and works in Athens as an independent curator. Recent curatorial projects include co-curatorship of the 4th Athens Biennial in 2013.

About the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:
Founded in 1876 and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA), is one of only two art schools in the country affiliated with a major museum—the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Our mission is to provide an education in the fine arts—for undergraduate and graduate artists—that is interdisciplinary and self-directed. This education values cultural, artistic and intellectual diversity; it embraces a wide range of media; it stresses the development of individual vision and its relation to culture in general; it values equally the knowledge gained by thinking and doing; it is deeply engaged with the world as a whole. If the mission is constant, its practice is always transforming. For more information about our programs and partnerships, visit www.smfa.edu.

RELATED EVENTS

Wednesday, September 10, 12–12:30 pm
For All the Reasons in the World, performance by Eirene Efstathiou
In this investigation of theatricality of dissent and the legibility of civil unrest, Efstathiou will walk along Newbury Street in Boston reciting slogans in Greek with an antiquated megaphone.

Thursday, September 11, 12:30–2 pm
Curatorial presentation and tour of the exhibition with curators Eirene Efstathiou and Evita Tsokanta
Mrs. E. Ross Anderson Auditorium

Thursday, October 9, 7:30 pm
Film screening and conversation, “History Zero” by Stefanos Tsivopoulos
Mrs. E. Ross Anderson Auditorium
A film screening of “History Zero,” and conversation between Stefanos Tsivopoulos and SMFA faculty members Jane Gillooly and Tina Wasserman. “History Zero,” which represented Greece at the 2013 Venice Biennial, takes as its starting point the multi-layered contemporary crisis in Greece, which Tsivopoulos sees as an opportunity to interpret an alternative visualization of the future. The film depicts three human experiences relating to notions of value systems and in so doing explores the role of money in the formation of human relationships and political and social elements relating to the ownership of money.

Stefanos Tsivopoulos (b. 1973) is a Greek artist and filmmaker living and working in Athens, Greece, and New York. His film and video work is a continuous research and experimentation with the fine line between reality and its representation, as well as the limits between fact and fiction, the authentic and the scripted, the staged and the improvised. His work has been shown in art museums and film festivals around the world. Recent solo shows and venues include: Cycladic Museum, Athens (2014); Greek Pavilion, 55th La Biennale di Venezia (2013); Art Basel Miami Beach (2013); and Stella Art Foundation, Moscow, Russia (2013).

Image: Vangelis Vlahos, Objects to relate to a trial (3 suitcases, 2 travel bags, a typewriter and one color TV), 2013-present, Prints on paper, Photo Credit-PRISMA, Greece

Contact: Brooke Daniels
617-369-3605
bdaniels@smfa.edu

Opening Reception: Tuesday, September 9, 5–7 pm

Barbara and Steven Grossman Gallery
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
230 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115
Exhibition hours: Monday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm; Thursday, 10 am–8 pm; closed Sundays and holidays.
Admission to the exhibition and related events is free

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