Opy Zouni - Geometric Abstraction

Geometric Attraction - Opy Zouni at the Theocharakis Foundation, Athens.

This is the second post on the Geometric Abstraction exhibition. The exhibition was on three floors and two and half of those were dedicated to the work of Opy Zouni so it felt right to do a separate post on her work. As usual, I will include the introduction from the first post - if you have read this already, jump to the next section which is right after the next picture.

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When Wassily Kandinsky painted his first abstract watercolour around 1910, the revolutionary upheaval that began in European art was as momentous as the introduction of perspective a few centuries earlier.

Throughout the 20th century, abstract art passed through many stages: it was questioned, attacked and rejected, then gradually achieved recognition and prominence. It became associated with artistic freedom, imagination, and the transcendence of visible, objective reality; with philosophical systems, scientific discoveries, mystical quests and political-social contexts; or it assumed cosmic and universal dimensions. At times, it served specific purposes, adopting multiple forms.

For a long time, women artists who turned to abstraction remained ignored, marginalised, or rendered 'invisible' within the male-dominated history of art, with few support networks available to them. A series of important exhibitions in recent years, from New York to London and Paris, have methodically and rigorously opened up, reassessed, and redefined the contribution of women artists to the history of abstraction. They present 'another' history countering one that frequently diminished or silenced the significant role women played in developing abstraction.

Zouni studied painting, pottery and photography in Cairo. In 1963 she moved to Athens where she studied at the School of Fine Arts - painting under Yannis Moralis, pottery and set design. She is known for her geometric and op-art style where she combines strict geometry with concepts of perspective and illusion. Her work explores the relationship between light, space and form, often carrying a poetic dimension. The main issue that has preoccupied her is the transition from two dimensions to three, the passage from a closed space to an open one. Through geometric shapes and bold colours, she captures light, shadow, motion and perspective.  The  immense spaces she creates seem even more immense due to human absence.

Roads in Reflection, 1972-1992, (acrylic on canvas)

White Room, 1989, (acrylic on cardboard and wood construction)

Chessboard Nature, 2002, (acrylic on canvas)

Climbing Towards Red, 1991, (acrylic on canvas)

Green Horizon, 1991, (acrylic on canvas)

Stairs in a Square Opening, 1990, (acrylic on canvas)

Stripes in Blue, 1984, (acrylic on canvas)

Cubes on a Chessboard, 2002, (acrylic on canvas)





Column, (acrylic on wooden construction)

Symmetrical Columns - Shadows, 1998, (acrylic on wooden construction)

We also watched a video where the artist talked about her work.

Geometric abstraction

Geometric Abstraction at the Theoharaki Foundation, Athens.

When Wassily Kandinsky painted his first abstract watercolour around 1910, the revolutionary upheaval that began in European art was as momentous as the introduction of perspective a few centuries earlier.

Throughout the 20th century, abstract art passed through many stages: it was questioned, attacked and rejected, then gradually achieved recognition and prominence. It became associated with artistic freedom, imagination, and the transcendence of visible, objective reality; with philosophical systems, scientific discoveries, mystical quests and political-social contexts; or it assumed cosmic and universal dimensions. At times, it served specific purposes, adopting multiple forms.

For a long time, women artists who turned to abstraction remained ignored, marginalised, or rendered 'invisible' within the male-dominated history of art, with few support networks available to them. A series of important exhibitions in recent years, from New York to London and Paris, have methodically and rigorously opened up, reassessed, and redefined the contribution of women artists to the history of abstraction. They present 'another' history countering one that frequently dimished or silenced the significant role women played in developing abstraction.

The art of the six women artists in this exhibition combines the incorporation of principles of Western modernism with the geometry and symmetry of Islamic art.

Etel Adnan, Untitled, 1970, (oil on canvas)

Etel Adnan, Untitled, 2012, (oil on canvas)

Etel Adnan, Untitled, 1985, (oil on canvas)

Saloua Raouda Choucair, Rhythmical Composition, (oil on canvas)

Unfortunately, I can not post any more images of Choucair's work from this exhibition as there was too much reflection from the glass. You can however see a post of her exhibition at Tate Modern here

Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Untitled, 2020, (acrylic on canvas)

Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Untitled, 2021, (acrylic on canvas)

Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Untitled, 2020, (acrylic on canvas)

Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Untitled, 2021, (acrylic on canvas)

Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Untitled, 2016, (acrylic on canvas)

Samia Halaby, Two Diagonals, 1968, (oil on canvas)

Lubna Chowdhary, Certain Times Xii, 2019, (ceramic)

Chryssa Romanou - Juvenilia

Chryssa Romanou - Juvenilia at the  Benaki Museum, Pireos, Athens.

This exhibition covered the work of eleven Greek artists who were influenced by the major events of the 20th century: WWII, the occupation of Greece by the Germans and the famine that ensued; the Civil War that followed the end of the war, and how it divided the nation; finally the seven years of the military dictatorship that brought so much suffering to the Greek people. 

In the exhibition we were shown how each artist's work developed and changed as they matured and how some moved on to abstraction. I will cover the work of one artist in each post.

What is very obvious in the works in this exhibition, is Romanou's move away from painting to collage, from abstraction to realism, from the subjective to the politcal. Personally, I prefer her early works which I think are fantastic. 

In general, Romanou's work is centred around the themes of critique of consumerism, a political interest in social inequalities and injustice, and the democratisation of art.

Study, 1984, (oil on canvas)

Still Life, 1959, (oil on cardboard)

Monotype, 1969, (ink on paper)

Monotype, 1969, (ink on paper)

Monotype, 1969, (ink on paper)

Myth, 1963, (oil on canvas)

Painting, 1960, (oil on canvas)

Images, 1981, (decollage on gelatin)

Map - Labyrinth, (decollate on plexiglass)

looking closer

looking closer

looking closer

Zodiaque 13, 1965, (collage on canvas)

Reportage, 1965, (collage on canvas)

Roma, 1965, (collage on canvas)

Spiros Vasileiou - Juvenilia

Spiros Vasileiou - Juvenilia, at the Benaki Museum, Pireos, Athens.

This exhibition covered the work of eleven Greek artists who were influenced by the major events of the 20th century: WWII, the occupation of Greece by the Germans and the famine that ensued; the Civil War that followed the end of the war, and how it divided the nation; finally the seven years of the military dictatorship that brought so much suffering to the Greek people. 

In the exhibition we were shown how each artist's work developed and changed as they matured and how some moved on to abstraction. I will cover the work of one artist in each post.

Modern urban life is the main subject of Vassiliou's art, using selective elements of Cubism and Impressionism. He combined monochrome backgrounds and the unorthodox positioning of objects. 

Construction Site, (oil on wood)

Exarchia, 1929, (oil on cardboard)

Galatsi, 1929, (oil on wood)

Staircases, 1959, (oil on wood)

City, 1965, (acrylic and paper on particle board)

a closer look at the triptych

a closer look at the triptych

a closer look at the triptych

Athens, 1930, (oil on wood)

Look at the difference with the triptych above - the difference 35 years have made to the development of the city.