Opening: Monday 1 July 2024, 7:30 PM
In the broad context of MOMus's strategy for climate change, but also of the open conversation with people who are multiplely connected to the organization and especially MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Collections of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and the State Museum of Contemporary Art, a special meeting/exhibition, with one of the most timeless beloved animals of the Greek countryside and essentially Nature itself as the "protagonist", will take place at the "MALI VENI" estate, in Markopoulo, Attica, from July 1 to September 30, 2024.
The exhibition is held with the support of MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Collections of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and the State Museum of Contemporary Art.
The estate “MALI VENI” - a place name that in Arvanitika means “mountain of beech trees” -, in Markopoulo, Attica, was started in 1984 by Manos Karakostas and is one of the first estates in Greece to turn to organic farming and then to regenerative organic farming.
In the unique environment of this estate, the exhibition “the goat” is taking place, which according to Epaminondas Christofilopoulos, Chairman, Board of Administration of the Metropolitan Organization of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus), “started as an imaginative idea, a way to do something different and emphasize the importance of a more ethical attitude towards the environment”.
The exhibition is based on an initiative by Maro Lagia, who in 1984 pioneered the acquisition of the Alexandros Iolas donation to the Macedonian Center for Contemporary Art, laying the foundation for the establishment of the first Museum of Contemporary Art in Greece, in the city of Thessaloniki.
The exhibition entitled "The Goat" aspires, through a series of visual works from different generations, to combine, in an original, inventive and imaginative way, references and symbolisms associated with this specific animal and covering a wide range, in a single visual environment, in an unexpected space, such as that of a warehouse on a large estate in Markopoulo.
The works presented - paintings, sculptures and ceramics, photographs and installations - approach the subject with special sensitivity, are works that are distinguished for their visual qualities, but, at the same time, indirectly raise issues about the "soul" of animals, within the broader context of reexamining their relationship and coexistence with humans.
The curator of the exhibition, Yannis Bolis, notes: "In ancient Greek myth, a goat will nourish the little Zeus with her milk, while the tragic Pan and the Satyrs will dwell in forests and next to riverbanks in a joyful and orgiastic atmosphere of dance, music and unrestrained erotic lust. The goat is one of those animals found all over the planet, an animal that claims a special place in myths and traditions, beliefs and religious rituals, in direct relation to the beginnings of human civilization, the permanent settlements of the Neolithic period, the occupation with agriculture and animal husbandry, survival and food. No other animal has managed to provoke such diametrically opposed attitudes. A symbol of fertility and prosperity, strength, endurance and sexual vitality. And on the other hand, the gloomy dimension, the magic and the diabolical presence, the figure of Satan which, several times, in the Christian world has many of the morphological characteristics of the goat.
Thuli Misirloglou, Artistic Director of MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Collections of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and the State Museum of Contemporary Art, notes: “the exhibition “the goat” is not an exhibition, nor an action. In my eyes, it is an “exhibition-event”, an exhibition and social performance together, which brings the creative spontaneity of Maros – always so constructive, from the very beginning of the Museum – alongside the creative reflexes of MOMus. The actors are also their people. And in them there are always those who come from the past to the present, who contribute positively, whose thinking is in an open line with their soul, through the prism of art and its freedom, who create emotions and not just rules… an exhibition-meeting in a new and unexpected common place, the place of the meeting of art, nature and joy.”
Artists of the exhibition: George Alexandridis, Annita Argyroeliopoulou, Andriana Verveti, Stratis Vogiatzis, Andreas Vousouras, Apostolos Georgiou, Nikos Giavropoulos, Kornelios Grammenos, Lydia Dambasina, Christoforos Doulgeris, Antigone Kavvatha, Yannis Kastritsis, Diane Katsiaficas, Yannis Kontaratos, Kyriakos Krokos, Tania Latarjet, Alexandros Maganiotis, Thanos Makris, Manolis Babousis, Mania Benisi, Nikolas Bliatkas, Natalia Mela, Alex Mylona, Eleni Mylona, Nurako (Fanouris Moraitis), Kosmas Xenakis, Maria Panagiotou, Antonis Papadopoulos, Ifigenia Sdoukou, Miltos Skouras, George Stathopoulos, Danae Stamatiou, Nikos Tranos, George Tsakiris, George Tserionis, Kostas Tsolis, Alekos Fassianos, Dionysis Christofilogiannis.
Curator: Yannis Bolis
Exhibition opening hours and days:
JULY: every Wednesday and Thursday, 19:00-21:00
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER: every Thursday and Friday, 18:00-21:00
To find the place, follow the following geographical coordinates based on google maps: "MALI VENI" ESTATE, MARKOPOULO, ATTICA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zohpoknCbtnNvPRF8?g_st=iw
