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.