Athens Open Art | 8th October

ATHENS OPEN ART 8 T H

O C T O B E R

GALLERY

SNEHTA

NODNOL EXHIBITIONS

INDEX

1. SOPHIA ARGYROU 2. BAMAGIOTIS 3. RENE DOESART 4. BEATA WAWRYKA 5. MELINA GEORGOUDA 6. THEOCHARIS SARMIDIS (MC IGOR) 7. ALEXANDROS GIANNAKOPOULOS 8. SALVI DENNING 9. KATERINA PAPATEGOU 10. ARISTEDES KOUGAS 11. ORESTIS NTELMAS 12. ELPINIKI MARAPIDI 13. AVERY CHES 14. THEODORA AUGUSTA LIONTI

SOPHIA ARGYROU IG: @in_the_mane_o_love , @m_gyftopoulou

Symbols of Metamorphosis / Selection of works Curated by Maria Gyftopoulou Symbols of Metamorphosis series of works is a tribute to the times when people where devoted to their myths. “…This activity of the early classical mind was in the highest degree artistic: the goal of its interest does not seem to have been how to understand the real world as objectively and accurately as possible, but how to adapt it aesthetically to subjective fantasies and expectations.”1 (Carl Jung on Mythology p118) This perception of reality is what Sophia Argyrou likes to explore with her work. It is about opening the passageway to the unconscious universe, where ancient vibes, pop culture and present time, coexist in a contemporary clay symposium.

Studied Fine Arts and graduated from her Masters Degree in Design, from Middlesex University. In 2002 she moved in the Netherlands, working as an illustrator and started her course as a tattoo artist. Her works have been awarded several times in international conventions. Working with clay has been a turning point for a life changing experience.

BAMAGIOTIS IG: @Bamagiotis

My birth name is Panagiotis Ampatielos and Bamagiotis as an artist, born in 1989 in Athens, Greece.

My talents exceed more than one field of art. Painting, photography, video, editing, design, music and many more.

The first touch was drawing/painting at the age of 5 or 6.

I paused around 12 years old since skateboarding was my newest love.

Procrastination due to perfectionism had me on hold but finally managed to restart painting again March 9th 2020, 20 years later.

I discovered my true identity, removed unwanted influence on purpose now that I control awareness.

My artistic bloodline Dimitris Rikakis (painter, writer) & Galateia Amaxopoulou (monodist, soprano) is within me even if I'm judged as a self-taught artist.

RENE DOESART IG: @renedoesart My name is Rene Doesart, i am a mixed media artist and painter who utilizes the naked body form to represent a larger narrative.

Working primarily with acrylics and mixed media, i create work that represents authenticity, femininity, and emotion. The way bodily form moves through space explores the deeper, unconscious scope of our stories.

This body language often becomes the main concentration within my work. The movement, gesture and posture of these compositions create a unique story for each and every viewer.

BEATA WAWRYKA IG: @oilpaintbybea

My name is Beata Wawryka.

Born in the south of Poland in 1986 in Tarnowskie Gory. My city gave me few opportunities to see art, but whenever I could, from an early age I went to museums and galleries, drawing energy from the works I saw. I was interested in art from an early age. I have been drawing as an amateur for several years, with breaks, looking for an idea and my style. I am not able to give up realism in my works, although I try other ways.

I successfully sell my works, which additionally makes me believe in the message my works convey.

My works are full of symbolism and values, love and a look at what is at first glance ugly is beautiful.

Influences : Rubens, Botero, Erich Kissing, Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Yerka, Dorian Cleavenger, Beksiński, Giger

MELINA GEORGOUDA IG: @melinageorgouda Melina Georgouda was born in 1976 in Thessaloniki.

She studied fashion design at FIT University in New York and shoe design at the ARS Sutoria Institute of Milan.

In her works she deals with the human figure, focusing mainly on portraits. The psyche, the experiences, the inner strength, are some of the elements that she tries to convey through the gaze and the expression. The colors she uses, vivid and many, create a palette of joy and intensity at the same time. Confused personalities, immersed in passions, insecurities, hard experiences but also strength, determination, fist. Water colors give you the feeling that you are traveling with them, they are fluid, they seduce the details, "spoil" the symmetries, emphasize the imperfections, and enrich the image. The use of a black ink that envelops her protagonists adds another dynamic element, a clear influence from Schiele. The background remains indifferent, accompanying the forms in color to add even more value to their fragile features. These individuals struggle with the multiple roles they are called upon to play in modern society, the demands of others, and their personal expectations.

They live in uncertainty and insecurity. But they are present, ready to fight for the next day.

These faces look you in the eyes and ask you to understand them, to listen to them …

What we all need to do with each other.

THEOCHARIS SARMIDIS (MC IGOR) IG: @mc_igor14 Theocharis Sarmidis was born and raised in Alexandroupoli. He has graduated from IEK majoring in graphics design and continued his studies in Athens in AKTO education institute fashion design .

He has also taken up photography , interior design, fashion design and of course painting.

From 2008 until the present time he has been mainly occupied with paintings. at the same time he has been attending different kinds of workshops giving him the opportunity to experiment various materials that express him such collage, acrylics and mainly oils He has taken part in 6 group exhibitions with "ART WAY" on the island of Paros and Athens. furthermore he took part in the commemoration exhibition "Thermopylae- Salamis - self taught truth of art " organized by the Marianna Vardinogiannis foundation.

Concluding he has many painting found in private selections in Greece and abroad.

ALEXANDROS GIANNAKOPOULOS IG: @a.giann_ Alexandros Giannakopoulos - School of Fine Arts These paintings represent two different series. The monochrome painting is the first one from the “Ballerinas (Ballet Dancers)” series. The other two are from the "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” series.

The “Ballerinas” series shows my attempt to depict the classic beauty of the past and the present. The body of a ballerina reveals the inseparable connection of beauty and hard work.

The “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” depicts a person’s spiritual world. I created deformed paintings, because this is how, I believe, contemporary man ends up. They will be remembered as troubled & broken, instead of curious & sophisticated.

SALVI DENNING IG: @salvidenning_art My name is Salvi Denning and I am 25 years old. I have attended 2 years courses of freehand drawing and graphic design. I have not participated in any art exhibition again.

What motivated me to get involved in the arts was my need to express in a satirical way my thoughts on society and its problems.

KATERINA PAPATEGOU IG: @Katerina_Papategou Katerina Papategou is an Athens-based artist who works mainly in mixed-media art.

A principal theme in KP’s work is the nature of face and she is also concerned with issues surrounding climate changes, birth deficit and human rights.

Normally, the face is a mask that changes depending on the audience and the variety of social interaction. The face is crucial for human identity. Facial appearance is vital for human recognition and communication. Facial muscles allow expression of emotion.

The faces of KP show a similarity, a staticity, an immobility and symbolise the massification, the models that want to pass us the social media.

Exhibitions: 1999 Agora Gallery, NY. , 2001 Utopia, Thessaloníki. , 2001 P Syndica, art gallery of the municipality of Thessaloníki. , 2001 OMMA Contemporary Art Center, Chania, Crete. , 2005 Wild Rose cafe, Athens.

ARISTEDES KOUGAS IG: @akugart Born in Alexandria ,Imathia, Greece.

Raised by a family owned a paint shop, contact and experience with color came in early age.

Mr Mavrokefalidis Dimitris teach me painting technics, but painting for me is concepts, senses, dreams, parts of my mind or someone we had the mind contact.

Studied in the Department of Energy Technology in Athens but wanting to discover the world, live cultures, see what can exist in peoples minds, beyond the images seen by the eyes, the "images of the mind".

Studied makeup to pair my love for the art of painting with another art form for making the living.

My art results that “prism” from contacts with a different culture, civilization, tribe.

ORESTIS NTELMAS IG: @orestisdraws My name is Orestis, and I am a 22 year old architecture student. I have been drawing for the last 7 years as a way to relax and reflect. Daydreaming about cloud filled cosmic landscapes has always been a big part of my life, and illustrating them has been a healing process. I often use mixed media techniques to illustrate my ideas, with watercolors and colored pencils being present in most of my drawings. As of recently I have illustrated a fantasy novel, and have been working on multiple art projects including 'Daydreaming' , 'Elsewhere' and 'From Color Fields to Dreamscapes'. The goal of my art is to transfer people experiencing it to a colorful and peaceful atmosphere where all the stress generated from everyday life is absent. "... Daydreaming is the bridge between imagining and creating."

ELPINIKI MARAPIDI IG: @nickie.marapidi Elpiniki Marapidi (b. 1995) is an actor, performer, painter and illustrator based in Athens, Greece.

She has completed her BA in Dramatic and Performing Arts at Iakovos Kambanellis Drama School (Athens, 2020) as well as her studies in Fine Arts at UAL (University of the Arts London, 2015).

As an artist, by using a variety of art forms ( performance art, filming, video art, theatre, music, installations etc.) she wants to give voice to subjects concerning our generation like human rights, a quest for identity, intersectionality and gender equality.

In her work she is inspired by and tries to marry aesthetics from cinema and various theatre forms, as well as contemporary and fine art.

AVERY CHES IG: @averyches Painter and Mixed Media Artist with four years of professional and international experience, Avery comes from the American deep south, Kentucky via New Orleans, and is now based in the South of France. She explores through her diverse art forms the deeper questions of women’s sexuality, the female versus male gaze, and body positivity within diversity, all with a focus on women.

Her current projects focus on uncovering the harmful effects of the male gaze on perceptions, especially by women themselves, of their own body. Through drawn nudes and paintings of Her Self, she attempts to remove and reverse the baseline male erotic gaze of the feminine body.

THEODORA AUGUSTA LIONTI IG: @theodora.augusta.lionti Theodora Augusta Lionti is a young artist whose body of work comprises striking modern Renaissance aesthetics-inspired nude portraits with idealized and beautifully proportioned bodies. Born and raised in Athens, Greece, her work often depicts charming bejeweled and modernized Greek mythological characters rendered on big canvases.

Her background in design also enables her to create bespoke art for luxury brands.

Theodora completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Leeds Arts University and holds a Masters of Arts in Design from AKTO+Middlesex University in London. She is currently ZenART’s resident artist and Dynamic Social Integrator.

ATHENS OPEN ART 8th October