Kostis
Velonis’s sculptural work often refers to historical events and art
historical movements, while his markedly political work has at the
same time a very personal aspect. He creates narratives characterized
by the linking of personal stories with the reworking of past
happenings. His personal experiences and reference points inflect his
theoretical pursuits, and historical leaders and literary heroes
often play a leading part in his newly invented scenarios. Velonis’s
sculptures have a modest character, and they are usually made of
wood, cardboard, small objects, and materials from the natural
environment, which the artist finds and reuses in a process of
bricolage. His works often transmit emotions such us loneliness,
failure, melancholy, and uncertainty.
Kostis
Velonis’s solo exhibition A
Puppet Sun is organized by NEON
and curated by Vassilis Oikonomopoulos. It is on view through January
14, 2018. It features twenty-five new works that the
artist conceived for 11 Kaplanon Street in central Athens, responding
to the history and architecture of the building. This neoclassical
residence has a remarkable history. It was constructed in 1891 and
first occupied by Pavlos Kountouriotis, the first president of the
Second Hellenic Republic (1924–35, the second period in modern
Greek history where Greece was not headed by a king). At the
beginning of the twentieth century, the Zouzoula family acquired the
residence, and the ground floor became the office of the politician
Apostolos Zouzoulas, one of the founders of the People’s Party.
Between the 1910s and the 1920s the building served as party
headquarters. Later, during the authoritarian Metaxas Regime
(1936–41), it was transformed into a residence for female students.
Kostis
Velonis and Daphne Vitali in conversation
Mousse
Magazine. Between the Private and the Public, the Intimate and the
Political : Kostis Velonis
