Booze Cooperativa, in collaboration with the new curatorial group Ko˩˩eCtivA2rt © and the non-governmental organisations PRAKSIS and KENTRO ZOIS, have the honour of presenting, for the first time in Greece, a group exhibition of 23 international artists entitled HOMO SAPIENS IN LOVE, from Friday 8 April to Wednesday 4 May 2011 (free admission).
Different forms of visual expression and creation, including painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, performance, illustration and industrial design, come together to offer the Athenian public a unique experience unlike any other.
From the conception of the idea to the organisation of the Homo Sapiens in Love exhibition
The idea for the exhibition arose from reading Edward Lucie-Smith’s book “Eroticism in Western Art”, combined with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth in 2009.
Sex is primal. The time we devote to it in our thoughts and words shows that it is one of our dominant preoccupations. Sexual references and images surround us everywhere. It is no surprise, then, that sex is one of the dominant themes in the fine arts. It may be the main subject, form only a small part of a work, or hover as a vague suggestion. It can be overt or concealed, harsh or latent, and sometimes unintentional, revealing far more about the artist than he or she originally meant to. Sex is present in the fine arts of every society. It is omnipresent and eternal.
Taking the biological nature of love as its starting point, the HOMO SAPIENS IN LOVE project tells the story of love and sex through a kaleidoscope of different visual media, at times arousing, at times comic, at times provocative, at times romantic, but always full of interest.
• “LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT”
• “THE FLIRT”
• “IT ALL STARTS WITH A KISS”
• “A PASSIONATE EMBRACE”
• “THE UNDRESSING”
• “THE FOREPLAY”
• “THE MAIN ACT”
• “THE SWEET RELAXATION”
Each artist has isolated and worked on one of these moments. They tell the story of love and sex by stamping it with their own personal visual perspective through the work that represents it.
The curatorial group Ko˩˩eCtivA2rt ©, as a follower of the 1970s movement “FLUXUS” (anyone can create art), decided to give a voice in this exhibition to art forms that are not strictly visual, such as industrial design. It did not, however, compromise in any way on the aesthetics of the exhibition. It sought to impose no restriction on the visual medium. On the contrary, Ko˩˩eCtivA2rt © saw it as a challenge to widen the scope of experimentation and to set no limits on the artists’ freedom of expression. The aim of the exhibition is to show that the universal nature of love can equally well be captured through imaginative visual media that underline the universal human value of sex and love.
OPENING: Friday 8 April 2011, 20:00.
• On opening day, at 21:30, there will be a live performance by the Ghanaian contemporary visual artist Eugene Ankomah.
• Throughout the exhibition, volunteers from the non-governmental organisations PRAKSIS and KENTRO ZOIS, as well as staff and volunteers from KEELPNO, will be on hand with informational material about HIV and with condoms, and will be able to speak to visitors in person.
DURATION: 8 April – 4 May 2011
OPENING HOURS: Daily 14:00 – 22:00
ADMISSION: Free
VENUE: Booze Cooperativa multi-space, 57 Kolokotroni St, Athens – Tel. 211 4000863
EXHIBITORS:
Eugene Ankomah (United Kingdom)
Revekka Taki (Cyprus)
Giorgos Gkizaris (Greece)
Eva Koliopantou (Greece)
Maher Diab (Lebanon)
Joanna Chrysohoidis (USA)
Manolis Anastasakos (Greece)
Theodora Foutrou (Cyprus)
Fabio Di Rocha (Brazil)
Kalos & Klio (Greece)
Andy Kurovets (Ukraine)
Shema Lavda (United Kingdom)
Sahak Sahakian (Norway)
Kaiti Chaliori (Greece)
Maria Trialoni (Greece)
Kostas Gkourtzis (Greece)
Anderson Santos (Brazil)
Αdonis Νikolaou (United Kingdom)
Katerina Fanouraki (Greece)
Anastasia Boikou (Greece)
Αrtemis Raouna (France)
Kostas Sklavenitis (Greece)
Nikolin Sylaj (Albania)
