Shaped By Earth: Kalfayan Celebrates Ceramic Art
What: Kalfayan Galleries present the group exhibition titled “Shaped By Earth”. The exhibition opening is on Thursday, February 27, 2025.
The exhibition “Shaped by Earth” at Kalfayan Galleries reflects upon the timeless importance of clay as a medium of artistic creation. Ceramics are ranked among the oldest forms of art, while ceramic artifacts, often known as “catnip for archaeologists”, provide valuable information on past civilizations. As man explored the limitless creative potential of working with clay, ceramics evolved gradually into a form of expression that was no longer limited exclusively to utilitarian or religious objects.
With time clay established itself as one of the most important tools of visual expression, with ancient and traditional ceramics being an inexhaustible source of inspiration. The debate ‘art vs craft’ which was recycled from time to time in Art Theory and which resurfaced in 2003 when Grayson Perry was awarded with the Turner Prize, today seems obsolete. Of particular interest is also the fact that at the opposite end of the catalytic influence of new Technologies and AI on contemporary art production, stands the revived interest about the handmaking creative processes and the dynamic shift of artists, among others, to the art of using clay as an expressive medium.
From Picasso (1881-1973) to Yanoulis Halepas (1851-1938), from Panos Valsamakis (1900-1986), and Yannis Tsarouchis (1910-1989) to Nausica Pastra (1921-2011), Peter Voulkos (1924-2022) and Alekos Fassianos (1935-2022), from Eleni Vernadaki to Sarah Crowner, Konstantin Kakanias, Nikomachi Karakostanoglou, Dimitris Neveskiotis, Cacao Rocks, Alexandros Tzannis and Eugenia Vereli, the exhibition “Shaped By Earth” captures the dynamics of ceramic art. Without being constrained by thematic orientation, locality, specific time period or style, the works in the exhibition interact with each other creating eclectic affinities that do not aspire to give certain answers but to raise questions:
Does the long tradition of ancient and/or traditional ceramic art constitute a creative barrier or is it a springboard for creativity for contemporary visual artists? How broad is the term ceramic art today? Is the intense interest in ceramics today a sign of reminiscence of the past or does it mirror the artists need to form a new visual language in the present and the future? What does clay symbolize and what is the relationship between mental and manual process of expression in the case of ceramics?
Participating Artists: Yanoulis Halepas, Sarah Crowner, Alekos Fassianos, Konstantin Kakanias, Nikomachi Karakostanoglou, Dimitris Neveskiotis, Nausica Pastra, Picasso, Cacao Rocks, Alexandros Tzannis, Yannis Tsarouchis, Panos Valsamakis, Eugenia Vereli, Eleni Vernadaki, Peter Voulkos.
When: 27 February – 29 March 2025, Opening Hours: Monday, 11.00-15.00 | Tuesday-Friday 11.00 – 19.00 | Saturday 11.00 – 15.00
Where: Kalfayan Galleries (11 Haritos Street, Kolonaki, Athens)
