After the Explosion…You Hear the Light
Role: Research and Curating (in collaboration with the 3 137 artist run space team)
Date: 12.2016
Location: 3 137 artist run space, Athens
Participating artists: Yannis Bouteas, Christophoros Brellis, Martha Christofoglou, Diochanti, Nikos Daskalothanasis, Alkistis Efthimiou, Yannis Gaitis, Charis Kanellopoulou, Valerios Kaloutsis, Elpida Karaba, Alexia Karavela, Iris Lykourioti, Kostas Machairas, Christophoros Marinos, Emmanuel Mavrommatis, Tina Pandi, Rena Papaspyrou, Niki Papaspyrou, Nausica Pastra, Elli-Anna Peristeraki, Laura Preston, Theo Prodromidis, Aris Prodromidis, Kostas Sahpazis, Yorgos Sapountzis, Kyrillos Sarris, Stamatis Schizakis, Vasilis Vafeas, Theodoros, Kelly Tsipni-Kolaza, Daphne Vitali, and others.
In the heart of the eminently fraught area of Exarcheia, a re-examination of the artistic practices of the recent past took place. After the fall of the dictatorship in Greece, new questions had been raised in opposition to the pre-existing forms of artistic practice, institutional critique and art’s perception by the public. What relevance did the disputes of post-1973 Greece continue to possess for the present day artists?
In a series of exhibitions, talks and round tables the issue of continuity and discontinuity in contemporary art was examined, along with the role of the artist in both reflecting and kindling societal change. How do we re-read earlier artworks amid the turmoil of today’s events? What lessons can an older generation of artists offer their younger contemporaries? Which elements of critical language have survived, still fresh after almost fifty years?
Themes of liberation and free expression, turmoil and refutation of archetypes, creation and disruption, were interwoven in a broader discussion centred around the aesthetics of rupture. After the Explosion…You Hear the Light, took the form of an exhibition, a series of talks and discussions, an archival collection and a publication by Paraguay Press in Paris.
After the Explosion You Hear the Light, 2016, installation view. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.Yannis Bouteas, Stratifications, 1995, video documentation from Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, installation view. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.Nausica Pastra, Relations–Rhythms, 1988, oregon pine, installation view. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.After the Explosion You Hear the Light, 2016, exhibition opening. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.After the Explosion You Hear the Light, 2016, installation view, from left: Yannis Bouteas, Stratifications, 1995, video documentation from Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center; Valerios Caloutsis, Mountain C, Variations, 1976, photograph, tempera; Thodoros, Manipulation I: For One Viewer Only, 1973; Manipulation III: The Column – The Rosetta Inscription in 1974 and The Ballad of Homo Faber 1974, 1974–1977, vinyl records and paper sleeves. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.Hypotheses for a Museum of Contemporary Art, roundtable discussion prompted by the work of the sculptor Thodoros, organised by Mare Spanoudaki. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.Aris Prodromidis & Theo Prodromidis, Bonds, Institutions, 2016, ink, postcards, stamps. Photo by Ilias Seferlis- Frantzis.Kostas Machairas, After Pantelis Xagoraris, presentation on the relationship between art, mathematics, and technology. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.Thodoros, Manipulation I: For One Viewer Only, 1973; Manipulation III: The Column – The Rosetta Inscription in 1974 and The Ballad of Homo Faber 1974, 1974–1977, vinyl records and paper sleeves, installation view. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.Vassilis Vafeas, The Cosmic Dissecting Room Show, film screening starring Grigoris Semitekolo. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.Yorgos Sapountzis From Soft to Hard and from Hard to Soft, 2016, performance based on the art of Stathis Logothetis. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis. After the Explosion You Still Hear the Light, installation view of the archival collection. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis. After the Explosion You Hear the Light, 2016, exhibition opening. Photo by Ilias Seferlis Frantzis.
Exhibition Brochure
Publication