Exhibition 1,2,3, b4: A precursor of the Thessaloniki Biennale 2013 program

Exhibition 1,2,3, b4
A precursor of  the Thessaloniki Biennale 2013 program
Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki - SMCA, Greece
Through September 4, 2013

CHRYSE TSIOTA

Locus Suspectus, video installation and photographs, 2007

(c) Chryse Tsiota ; Courtesy SMCA / CACT, Thessaloniki

THEO PRODROMIDIS

The magnificent capital, video, 2007

(c) Theo Prodromidis ; Courtesy SMCA / CACT, Thessaloniki

On the occasion of the upcoming 4th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, the exhibition “1,2,3, b4” comes as a precursor of  the 4th Thessaloniki Biennale program. The title of the exhibition refers to the Biennales that took place in the city of Thessaloniki in 2007, 2009 and 2011, while the pun b4 (= before) refers to the upcoming 4th Biennale of Contemporary Art, which will be hosted in the city by September 18th, 2013 at various venues with numerous exhibitions and events.

AZAT SARGSYAN

Public Constructivism, photographic series, 2008

(c) Azat Sargsyan ; Courtesy SMCA / CACT, Thessaloniki

YANG YONGLIANG

Untitled, photographic series, 2009

(c) Yang Yongliang ; Courtesy SMCA / CACT, Thessaloniki

The artworks presented in the exhibition are productions of the previous Central and Parallel Programs (namely the three International Young Artists’ Workshops, as well as the last Performance Festival and the Public Screen Project) of the previous Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2007, 2009, 2011. The works are donations from the artists to the collection of the State Museum of Contemporary Art and to the city of Thessaloniki. The artworks selected and included in the exhibition now get into a completely new context and they are connected in a different exhibition scenography. Artists from different countries and backgrounds coexist in a project preparing the ground for this  year's fourth edition of the Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art.

All works/projects reflect the ideological content of the previous Biennials, apart from reflecting individual and sociopolitical, international and local ideas and concepts. Abandoned places - “heterotopias”, social and labor inequalities, images of modern Greece and the Mediterranean region, symbols of oppression, ecological disasters, gender and identity issues are few of the ideas that coexist and interact. The exhibition, apart from summing up all the previous events, is in addition the documentation of an important project that is closely linked to Thessaloniki, continuing to contribute to the city’s life and cultural wealth, as well as important international coverage.

ELINA IONNOU

Composition with fence and plastic bags, installation, 2011

(c) Elina Ioannou ; Courtesy SMCA / CACT, Thessaloniki

NADIA AYARI

Without Walls: The new paintings of Thessaloniki, 2011

portable murals pasted on wood and photographs

(c) Nadia Ayari ; Courtesy SMCA / CACT, Thessaloniki

The artists and projects included:
Dimitris Ameladiotis, Untitled, installation, 2011
Elina Ioannou, Composition with fence and plastic bags, installation, 2011
Helen Mouzakiti, Untitled, photographic series, 2005-7
Theo Prodromidis, The magnificent capital, video, 2007
Chryse Tsiota, Locus Suspectus, video installation and photographs, 2007
Vahram Aghasyan, Ghost Town, photographic series, 2005
Tursun Ali, Life in Aral, photograph, 2006
Victor An, Requiem, photograph, 1989
Nadia Ayari, Without Walls: The new paintings of Thessaloniki, portable murals pasted on wood and photographs, 2011
Andrei Filippov, Saw, photomontage, 2006
Omid Salehi, Cane Land, photographic series, 2003
Azat Sargsyan, Public Constructivism, photographic series, 2008
Guram Tsibakhasvili, Interiors, photographic series, 2000
Yang Yongliang, Untitled, photographic series, 2009
The project Public Screen, 2007
Selected documented performances form the Thessaloniki Performance Festival, 2011: Nezaket Ekici,
Luigi Presicce, Kira O’ Reilly

Curators: Areti Leopoulou, Thodoris Markoglou, Art Historians & Curators SMCA / CACT
Museographer: Gianna Stavroulaki, Architect

On view at the SMCA through January 31, 2014: The Costakis collection and the Russian avant-garde. 100 years since the collector’s birth

CONTEMPORARY ART CENTRE OF THESSALONIKI (CACT) - STATE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (SMCA) 
Warehouse B1, Thessaloniki port area
CACT's website: www.cact.gr

Costakis collection & Russian avant-garde, SMCA, Thessaloniki

The Costakis collection and the Russian avant-garde. 100 years since the collector’s birth
State Museum of Contemporary Art, SMCA, Thessaloniki, Greece
Through January 31, 2014

© National Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki

2013 is an anniversary year for the State Museum of Contemporary Art -SMCA- in Thessaloniki, Greece, since it has been 100 years since the collector George Costakis was born in Moscow. On this occasion the SMCA holds a big exhibition, with over 250 artworks from the famous Russian avant-garde collection, dedicated to the collector himself, a large part of whose collection belongs to the Museum. The other part was donated by the collector himself in 1977 to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. 

GEORGE COSTAKIS in his apartment in Moscow.

Photo Igor Palmin, 1974

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

The collector GEORGE COSTAKIS

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

The Costakis collection is the largest collection of Russian avant-garde art (1900-1930) and has a great mobility in exhibitions all over Europe and the USA. It is a big presentation of the Costakis collection and the archive which follows and shows the collector’s gaze and method, through monographic artists’ presentations, enriched by guided tours, educational programs, talks, book presentations and lessons on the Russian avant-garde period. 

Among many others, on view are artworks by artists Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935), Solomon Nikritin (1898-1965), Ilya Chashnik (1902-1929), Lioubov Popova (1889-1924), Alexei Morgunof (1884-1935)

KAZIMIR MALEVICH

Portraiture, 1910

Gouache on paper

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

SOLOMON NIKRITIN

Man and Cloud, circa 1930

Oil on paper mounted on plywood

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

ILYA CHASHNIK

Σουπρεματιστικός Σταυρός [Souprematistikos (?) Cross], 1920-1921

Oil on canvas

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

LIOUBOV POPOVA

Κυβοφουτουριστικό Πορτρέτο [Cubist Futurism Portrait], 1914-1915

Oil on cardboard

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

LIOUBOV POPOVA

Architectural painting, 1918

Oil on canvas

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

ALEXEI MORGUNOF

Aviator, 1912-1913

Oil on canvas

© National Museum of Contemporary Art - Collection Costaki

This exhibition is part of the 4th Thessaloniki biennale of Contemporary Art 2013 (September 18, 2013- January 31, 2014)

Curators:  Maria Tsantsanoglou, SMCA Director,  Angeliki Charistou, SMCA Art Historian

STATE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Moni Lazariston building (Northeast wing)
21 kolokotroni Str., Stavroupoli, Thessaloniki, Greece
Museum's website: www.greekstatemuseum.com