PERFORMANCE:Leda Papaconstantinou-Drawing with Ink & Pleased To Meet You
“For half a century now, Leda Papaconstantinou develops her art practice focusing on the relationship between body and image. Her performances and installations, are always executed with the austerity of a studied choreography and a sense of improvisation. In truth, they constitute an amalgam οf the stillness of tableau vivant and the movements that freely “paint “in space. Living body and still body, subject and object, submit a decisive confession of faith, to challenge both,the conventional rhythms of art production and the way art is viewed.” text by Thalea Stefanidou, art historian, on the occasion of Leda Papaconstantinou solo exhibition at Lola Nikolaou Art Gallery where the video performance “Drawing with Ink” was first shown (15/11-7/12 2018), Her Performance “Pleased To Meet You” with co-performer Argyri Bezati, took place on 14/11/2018 at the Byzantine Bath of the Upper Town, Thessaloniki in collaboration with MOMUS (Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki) and the art historian Syrago Tsiara Deputy Director MOMuS Contemporary.
CV: Leda Papaconstantinou, born 1945 in Ambelonas, Larissa, Greece. Studied Graphic Design at the Athens Technological Institute Doxiades, Fine Arts at the Loughton College of Art (London) and Maidstone College of Art (Kent Institute of Art and Design, University of Kent). She lives and works on the island of Spetses, Greece. She is one of the primary and few artists in Greece who has used performance as an expressive medium during the ’70s and ’80s and her presence is constant and continuous since the late 60’s. Her work, apart from performances, consists of installations, paintings, sculptures, video and film. Since 1969, her work has been presented in numerous group and solo shows worldwide, including: “Sculptures”, Sao Paolo International Biennial (1986), “Post Champions”, BIDA-Biennale of Sport in Art, Seville (2005), “Performance, Film, Video 1969-2004”, Benaki Museum, Athens & Bei Hamam, Thessaloniki (2006), “In the name of ”, 1st Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (2007), “Live Art on Camera: performance and photography”, SPACE London, UK (2007), “Forever”, Aeschyleia Festival, Elefsina, Greece (2009), “Time in My Hands”, site-specific installation, commission for the “Monastiraki” station, Attiko Metro, Athens (2010). “Yes + No”, The Bath of the Winds, Museum of Popular Art, Athens (2011). Works of hers belong to public and private collections, among them: National Gallery, Athens, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Contemporary Art Museum Rethymnon, Alpha Bank, Nestle ect.
Leda Papaconstantinou, Drawings with ink (teaser), 15/11-7/12/2018, Lola Nikolaou Art Gallery-Thessaloniki, Audio-visual design Fani Bitou, © Leda Papaconstantinou, Courtesy the artist and Lola Nikolaou Art Gallery
Leda Papaconstantinou, Pleased to meet you, 14/11/2018, Performers: Leda Papaconstantinou & Argyri Bezati, Curated by Syrago Tsiara Byzantine Bath of the Upper Town, Thessaloniki, Curated by Syrago Tsiara-Deputy Director MOMuS Contemporary, Audio-visual design Fani Bitou, © Leda Papaconstantinou, Courtesy the artist