ERROR EXPLANATION | Ivana de Vivanco, Sally Kindberg, Paris Giachoustidis

About

68projects is pleased to present the group exhibition “Error Explanation” with works by Ivana de Vivanco, Sally Kindberg and Paris Giachoustidis. Experimenting with contemporary figurative painting in different ways, each artist provokes a discourse about the history of humanity and the absurdity of our times. Satirical, theatrical and comical in nature – humor plays a key role in the works presented. They offer a complex examination of present-day life, seen through a whimsical lens, which places the viewer into a seductive perspective from which the ridiculous and civilized can be examined. Through “Error Explanation” the artists thus explore societal “errors” in an attempt to better understand and redirect our collective notion of the world today and of history. In doing so, they tackle issues of gender conformity, high and low brow culture, capitalism as well as colonial pasts.

In the works of Ivana de Vivanco we are presented with a complete reversal of roles – female characters sit center stage with decisive gazes and a powerful presence as representatives of Western colonial history find themselves trampled underneath the chaos they have created. A chain leads itself from one work to the other, a chain of conformity and a chain of difference. It marks the shackles of indigenous populations and the role of women in society - this chain, however, in the end is simply an accessory, a reminder of a darker past and struggles overcome. It no longer holds a woman down, pulling at her braids, instead it now sits quietly across her neck and points to her power.

For Sally Kindberg the examination of our surroundings takes place much more on a on a formal level. The tragicomic of society makes its way through the fine lines between imaginary and everyday scenes and depictions. The intricate differences between forms of artistic expression, such as stylized form, use of color, photorealism, or mark-making, dissolve the picture planes. As flatness meets near three-dimensionality, and the double-take interaction with the works leaves the viewer wondering where the predominant figuration ends and abstraction begins. Connecting threads of contemporary culture, Kindberg's surreal paintings comment on our daily confrontation of poignant and at once basic aspects of our daily lives.

Paris Giachoustidis' critical practice objectifies semiology and culture. Based on external content from the Internet and historical recordings, Giachoustidis creates highly topical, socially relevant works that sharpen our perception when dealing with images from the mass media. Discovering new adequate forms of painterly appropriation and alienation, the artists' distanced process subtly expresses elements of absurdity in contemporary culture. Undermining pseudo-realistic elements within his paintings by adding allegedly unsophisticated traits, he aims to disrupt the prevailing viewing habits of his viewers. Within this newest body of paintings, Giachoustidis playfully critiques the farce of capitalist freedom and the ultimate alienation of the worker from both life and work.

Ivana de Vivanco (born in 1989, Lisbon), is a Chilean-Peruvian artist who completed her art studies at the Universidad de Chile with Gonzalo Díaz Cuevas. She moved to Germany in 2013, studying at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig with Oliver Kossack and graduating as a master student of Annette Schröter in 2016. Her works have appeared in important publications, such as “100 Painters of Tomorrow” by Thames & Hudson, and have been exhibited in Chile, Germany, Spain, Belgium, England, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg and Switzerland. She has received a scholarship from the DAAD, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony and was awarded the Marion Ermer Prize in 2015. In 2021 she completed a residency at the Centro de Arte Casa de Indias in Cádiz. Recent exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art Santiago in Chile, the Kunsthalle Darmstadt in Germany, Josef and The RYDER Projects Madrid in Spain. Upcoming exhibitions include “How I Feel” with Yan Copelli, MamaLike in New York and “Trace Evidence”, Badr El Jundi Gallery in Marbella.

Sally Kindberg (born in 1970, Sweden) studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she now lives and works. In 2020 Kindberg received the John Moores Painting Prize. Notable exhibitions include Kindbergs solo exhibition in 2021 at Four You Gallery in Dubai as well as her solo show “Soft bite”, curated by Maria Stenfors at 12 Star Gallery, London, in 2018. In 2021 she also participated in the group exhibition “Domesticity”, curated by Sasha Bogojev at Volery Gallery in Dubai.  Other shows include “Not Dream of Islands”, selected by John Chilver and Daniel Pettitt, at Palfrey Gallery, London; Secret Charter, at The Dulwich Picture Gallery, London; XIX Cerveira International Art Biennial, Portugal; the touring exhibition Nature Morte Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still Life, curated by Michael Petry and Roberto Ekholm, which will be seen in Sweden, Poland, and the UK. Her work will be included in König Galerie's Messe at St. Agnes in May 2021.

Paris Giachoustidis (born in 1990, Serres) holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Arts from both the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and the Weißensee Kunsthochschule in Berlin, Germany. He has exhibited extensively in Germany and Greece, including exhibitions at KWADRAT, Berlin; KINDL-institute for contemporary art, Berlin; Art center Bethanien, Berlin; Max Liebermann Haus, Berlin and Russi Klenner Gallery, Berlin, amongst others. He was awarded the NEUSTART KULTUR, bildende Künstler*innen Stipendium in 2020 and the Art Prize Haus am Kleistpark in 2017. His works may be found in private collections, including the Christos & Polly Kolliali Collection, the Miettinen Collection and A Private Collection - Tyrown Vincent, amongst others. Upcoming exhibitions include “Arte Noah” at the Kunsthalle Feldbach in Austria, “Wie bereits eingangs erwähnt” at the BcmA arts project space, Berlin, Germany and “Arche für die Kunst” at the Kunstverein Bad Saltzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg, Germany in 2021.