Two imposing abstract forms. A marble unity divided by an irregular section. A micro-universe on the cusp of fusion or dissociation. A monument that celebrates the highest fluctuating state that man can experience: love. It is the central sculpture signed by the artist, Venia Dimitrakopoulou, and is the core of her new solo exhibition ” Sculpturing Eros “, which opened on 23 May at the Kourd Gallery.

“During one of my walks in the marble shop, walking among various volumes of marble and remnants of various cuts, my eye fell on two large oblong pieces that were lying on the ground next to each other”, explains Venia Dimitrakopoulou how her iconic new work was “born”. “It looked as if it had once been a single volume now torn in two. The word that immediately came to mind was Eros. I picked them up, lifted them upright, chiseled them, put them together while still leaving a little air between them, a small gap. I then placed them together on a common single base.”

The oversized marble “Eros“, however, is not the only new work in the exhibition at the Kourd Gallery. It is surrounded by the large floor-standing brass “Alpha”, which refers to Absence/Distance , Love/Eternity, Beginning/Infinity. The sound work “Eros Suddenly“, in which the artist’s texts meet her voice and the melodies of Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos. And from a multitude of other works – some of which are being presented for the first time – that make use of Venia Dimitrakopoulou’s multifaceted visual vocabulary, which includes sculpture and drawing, video, sound and speech: the “Fighters” carved in volcanic stone and the marble “Spears“.

The “Swirls” that left their imprint in Chinese ink on handmade paper, as well as the “Vain Letter“, a letter that never went away. The “Shadows” of the iconic “Bastions”, which are placed in the courtyard of the largest and most important Greek museum, the National Archaeological Museum on Patission Street. The textile “Shroud” and the hundreds of “Ceramic Gestures”, part of the video installation “Zoodochos Pigi“, are some of the works that make up the ten total sections, which have occupied the four spaces of the gallery.

“Everything in the exhibition, from the sound works and the video with its intangible substance, to the swirls drawn with ink, the lines, the words, the handwritten texts and the sculptural forms on a small or large scale, encompass traces of self-introspection and reminiscence. The artist is drawn to the mystical, the spiritual, the primordial. But these ancient, primary values for human existence and artistic creation are interwoven by Venia Dimitrakopoulou with contemporary personal mythologies. Invoking her experiences, imaginary performances, emotions and narrating scenes, snapshots, stories. Her fields of wandering are, on the one hand, historical and cultural Time, on the other hand, a very personal time”, notes the curator of the exhibition, Eleni Varopoulou, in her text.

During the exhibition, discussions and special events will be organised, the programme of which will be announced shortly.

The exhibition will conclude with the publication of a colour, illustrated catalogue.

ΙΝFO

Venia Dimitrakopoulou, “Sculpturing Eros”

Curator: Eleni Varopoulou

Photos: Louis Bourjac

Venue: Kourd Gallery, Kassianis 4 and Fanarioton, 114 71 

Inauguration: Thursday 23 May 2024, at 20:00

Duration: 24 May through 28 September 2024

Opening Times: Tuesday-Friday 12.00-20.00, Saturday 10.00-14.00.