Alex in Wonderland, ACT II: If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there

About

Unpredictable events have drastically altered our circumstances and the world, as we know it, is no longer there. The new normal is well outside everyone’s comfort zone, appearing almost surreal. It feels as if we are part of a bizarre fairy tale, anxiously bargaining for a happy end.

In the face of chaos, artistic activity has not ceased. Artists continue doing what they know best: capturing emotions and creating dreams without employing words, using their images to give us all the kiss of life.

«Art has always been comforting people in trying times, it is an archetypal survival tool. There is no such thing as giving up for artists: they persevere, continuing to produce art to save the soul, both their and ours.» notes curator Alexandra Kollaros.

The recently created works, authentic psychograms of the artists’ and the collective subconscious alike, illustrate a broad range of emotions, like the ones we all experience: from hope and awkwardness to irritation and daydreaming. The need to believe in something eventually triumphs, there is a suggestive promise that everything will be all right.

Through a diverse group of artists the exhibition explores the boundaries between different art forms and the power of context to direct the relationship between image and audience. Multiversity doesn’t just regard scale, colour and material, but extends to the style and type of the exhibits; from naturalistic painting to street art portraiture, from typographic installations to embroidered tableaus, from life-size animal sculptures to kinetic art. An experimental soundtrack, especially composed for the exhibition by pianist Lefki Karpodini and composer Periklis Liakakis, accompanies the show, infusing a different art form into the mix. The different elements merge to create a timeless, magical Wonderland we are invited to explore through this contemporary proposal that highlights the work of artists worth knowing and supporting now.

At the dawn of a new era, at a time tinted with uncertainty art offers a way out, acting as the glue that keeps the fabric of our society together.

Art is the answer.

This is the second instalment of the Alex in Wonderland art trilogy (2011-), a series of exhibitions inspired by Lewis Carroll’s «Alice’s adventures in Wonderland», initiating the viewer into art’s magical dimension.

Parallel to the physical space you can visit 2 online versions of the show: a virtual reality gallery, which the visitor can navigate in 3D, and a microsite accessible at: http://www.artaz.gr/alex-in-wonderland-ii/. The exhibition also features an extensive parallel program of events.

Participating artists: Dimitra Chanioti, Sarah Ettlinger, Panagiotis Ferentinos, Simoni Fontana, Vassilis Georgiou, Heart Factory, Itsmi, Vasilis Karouk, Kalliopi Kouklinou, George Koutsouris, Loula Leventi, Dimitris Liossis & Harrison Lambert, Paraskevi, Kostas Protopapas, Argiris SER, Maria Spyraki, The Krank, Katerina Tsaligopoulou, Iakovos Volkov, Constantine Vraziotis.

About Alexandra Kollaros

Alexandra Kollaros is actively promoting contemporary art for the past 26 years, aiming to make it accessible to all.  She is the author of «Greek Art from A to Z». @alexandrakollaros ▪ www.alexandrakollaros.com

About The Project Gallery 

The Project Gallery is a multi-disciplinary art space aiming for the promotion of cultural exchange and the reactivation of the Athenian center through artistic activity.  @theproject gallery  ▪ www.theprojectgallery.gr

INFO

Alex in Wonderland, ACT II: If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there
#aiw2

Curated by: Alexandra Kollaros

Location: The Project Gallery, 1st Floor, 3 Normanou St., Monastiraki, Athens

Opening: Friday 6 November 2020, 19:00

Duration: 8-29 November 2020

Experimental Soundtrack: Lefki Karpodini & Periklis Liakakis (λ-ensemble)

With the support of: artAZ, Couleur Locale

Media Sponsor: Kroma magazine

Microsite: www.artaz.gr/alex-in-wonderland-ii/

Online Viewing Room: Opening Sunday 15 November 2020

For further info: alexandrainwonderland2@gmail.com