A program of talks about painting, the way it is made, the way we look at it, and the way we use language to address it. Curator Jurriaan Benschop speaks with experts from different fields about the exhibition ‘A Grammar of Gestures’ in Athens.
“Kourd Evening Art Talks” does not take the form a formal discussion, but it engages everyone is approaching the exhibition from another point of view and create a safe space for the lovers of art to gather and exchange ideas.
9.4.22 SHIFTING SHAPES with Andreas Ragnar Kassapis painter. A shared feature of the works in the exhibition A Grammar of Gestures is the dynamics of shapes, the tendency of forms to flip and change appearance while you are looking at them. The artists seem to focus on creating pictures that are not fixed in meaning, but remain open to different readings and ways of seeing.
10.4.22 PAINTING IN THE DIGITAL AGE with Alexandros Voutsas, photographer. Within the landscape of contemporary arts and life, how does painting contribute to the conversation? What specifics does it bring to the table? The stream of digital images and information, on our phones and other screens, has created a new context and changing habits of looking. How does painting relate to the current reality of digital image production and consumption?
11.4.22 CONTENT IS A GLIMPSE with Marita Gerarchaki, clinical psychologist. What kind of responses do we have when looking at a painting? Is there an immediate recognition of what it is about? Is it even possible to speak about ‘content’ in painting? The discussion starts with a quote from abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning from the 1960’s, who stated that “content is a glimpse, an encounter like a flash.”
14.4.22 PAINTING AS A TIME BASED ART with David Benforado, painter. What if we think of painting as a time based art? As an art that took many moments to be made, and many layers for its meaning to surface? An art that unfolds only when you give it a second look and a third and see how it changes? While paintings are usually presented as static objects on the wall, time plays an important role in its production and reception.
15.4.22 GLOBAL LANGUAGE, LOCAL ROOTS with Theodora Koumoundourou, art consultant. In the exhibition five painters with different backgrounds come together. They share a common language, which creates a dialogue between their respective positions. Yet their work is rooted in different cultural contexts. How does that come out?
All talks start at 7.30 pm at Kourd Gallery, Kassianis 2 in Athens. Entrance is free. The exhibition A Grammar of Gestures is on view till 18 March 2022. Image Jurriaan Benschop (l) in conversation with painter Andreas Ragnar Kassapis (r) on 9 april.