Kostis
Velonis, Life without democracy, 2009
3.90
m x 1.90 m x 42 cm
As
documenta 14 continues its journey in Athens, having the National
Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) as its main exhibition venue, an
important part of the EMST collection travels to Germany, to be part
of documenta 14 program in Kassel (10/6-17/9/17). The exhibition
ANTIDORON. The EMST Collection will occupy the whole emblematic
building of Fridericianum. It comprises 82 artists and 180 works and
it is curated by the Director of EMST, Mrs. Katerina Koskina,
supported by Stamatis Schizakis and Tina Pandi, Assistant Curators
and Iro Nikolakea in the Architectural design. It is presented in the
framework of the Museum’s series EMST in the World.
The
exhibition at the Fridericianum marks the first time that the most
part of the EMST collection is presented outside Greece, through a
double relocation that renders EMST’s home, one of the main venues
of documenta 14 in Athens, and the Fridericianum, traditionally the
centerpiece of a documenta, the temporary home of EMST’s
collection.
EMST
began creating its collection in 2000. Its acquisitions now include
more than 1,100 works by Greek and international artists from the
1960s onward. The exhibition ANTIDORON. The EMST Collection is an
adapted version of the extensive museological study that will be
displayed in full at the EMST spaces. Presented in the Fridericianum,
the birthplace of documenta and the first public museum in Europe,
the exhibition deals with issues of border crossings, diasporas,
cultural exchange, existential quests, and mythologies, as well as
personal and collective memories. Additionally, the Fridericianum’s
brief tenure as Germany’s first parliamentary building makes it the
most appropriate venue in which to show the works of several artists,
active during the troubled postwar era and the ensuing decades of
political upheaval and revolutionary re-imagination of society.
While
the presentation of the collection maintains its international scope,
it also emphasizes the presence of pioneering Greek artists,
highlighting and revisiting their national and international
journeys.
The
title embodies the mutual respect of both institutions, documenta 14
and EMST independently of their diverse commitments and missions, to
discourse and to reinterpret essential issues and visual language. It
deals with concepts such as trading, exchanging, sharing, giving and
offering Antidoron (αντίδωρον, literally the return of a
gift) or Antidanion (αντιδάνειo, the return of a loan either
linguistic, cultural, or financial). The prefix “anti” reveals a
distinct position and consequently a view, not necessarily opposed
to, but departing from a different point in order to communicate, to
argue, to bridge, to converge, and to accept each other’s’
stances.
Until
September 17, Fridericianum in Kassel becomes EMST’s contemporary
home in Germany, and ANTIDORON, a gift in return – when translated
– symbolizing the shared benefits of this collaboration.
Dimitris
Alithinos, Nikos Alexiou, Andreas Angelidakis, Stephen Antonakos,
Janine Antoni, Alexis Akrithakis, Evgenia Apostolou, Athanasios
Argianas, Manolis Baboussis, Bertille Bak, Lynda Benglis, Andrea
Bowers, Chronis Botsoglou, Yiannis Bouteas, David Broomberg &
Oliver Chanarin, Constantin (Dikos) Byzantios, Pedro Cabrita Reis,
Vlassis Caniaris, Chryssa, Chandris Pantelis, Danil, Bia Davou,
George Drivas, Eirene Efstathiou, Haris Epaminonda, Koken Ergun, Jan
Fabre, Stelios Faitakis, Carlos Garaicoa, Kendell Geers, George
Hadjimichalis, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Mona Hatoum,
Gary Hill, Emily Jacir, Gulsun Karamustafa, Nikos Kessanlis,
Kimsooja, Panos Kokkinias, Dimosthenis Kokkinidis, Joseth Kosuth,
Jannis Kounellis, Piotr Kowalski, Yorgos Lazongas, George Lappa, Ange
Leccia, Stathis Logothetis, Maria Loizidou, Andreas Lolis, Danny
Mathys, Yiannis Michas, Nikos Navridis, Nina Papaconstantinou,
Maria Papadimitriou, Aimilia Papafilippou, Ilias Papailiakis, Rena
Papaspyrou, Nausika Pastra, Pavlos, Jannis Psychopedis, Alexandros
Psychoulis, Walid Raad, Oliver Ressler, Lucas Samaras, Yorgos
Sapountzis, Allan Sekul, Vassilis Skylakos, Christiana Soulou, Aspa
Stasinopoulou, Takis, Thodoros, sculptor, Thanasis Totsikas, Nikos
Tranos, Stefanos Tsivopoulos, Costas Tsoclis, Dimitris Tzamouranis,
Costas Varotsos, Kostis Velonis, Bill Viola, Vangelis Vlahos,
Pantelis Xagoraris, Georgios Xenos
ANTIDORON.
The EMST Collection
Fridericianum,
Kassel
10
June- 17 September 2017
