Polina Miliou | Kyklos

波琳娜·米柳 | Kyklos

比雷埃夫斯 Polidefkous 39 號,雅典 Carwan 畫廊 | 2022年9月1日 - 10月29日

Carwan Gallery 很榮幸在位於比雷埃夫斯的畫廊主空間,呈現希臘藝術家 Polina Miliou 的個展「KYKLOS」。此次展覽的作品系列以圓潤、有機的形狀為特色,並深入探討了象徵意義與基礎幾何學。展覽運用原始且直覺的色彩調性,引領觀者踏上一場夢幻之旅,穿越基克拉澤斯群島溫暖光影下的層層色調。

Polina Miliou 是一位活躍於雅典與洛杉磯的希臘新銳藝術家,其創作實踐涉及將回收的舊家具升級再造,轉化為注入玩味、好奇心與獨特女性氣質的雕塑作品。Miliou 的創作擁有有機且充滿活力的形態,配合鮮活的色彩,宛如一個個性格迥異、開朗活潑的生物。

In her work, Miliou draws inspiration from her heritage and personal environment. On the one hand, she revisits the rounded geometries and abstract forms of early Cycladic figurines; and on the other, she draws from video games and animation characters, an influence evident in the ludicity and humour present in her work. For the artist, the connection between these two worlds (i.e. that of prehistoric Cycladic figurines and modern pop culture) lies in the way she approaches the naive, the primitive, and the originary.

For her solo show at Carwan, the artist adds a new layer to her practice, which is the transformation of existing furniture into new, exuberant bodies. To create the whimsical objects seen at KYKLOS, the artist first scouts local flea markets for used furniture, particularly traditional Greek wicker chairs, which she then sculpts by hand in a freeform, improvisational way using a mixture of paper pulp the artist makes herself. Pigment is mixed into the pulp as well (the objects are not painted over), in order to achieve a bright, solid, and durable effect. Each colour vibrates with its own energy, and is referencing the Cycladic sky at different times of the day. The cycle of the sun thus becomes part of the fluid geometric theme the artist has set up for this exhibition.

The Cyclades allegedly got their name from the ancient Greek word kyklos — meaning the circle, but also the sky — because the ancients believed that these islands were arranged in a circle around the sanctuary of Apollo on Delos. Found all across these islands, the small stone figurines of the Bronze-age Cycladic civilisation possess strikingly proportions and a unique curved geometry. Probably of religious significance, these prehistoric artefacts were originally painted over, with pigments used to add details of garments and body parts.

For KYKLOS, Polina Miliou revisits these figurines and their quintessentially Greek formal vocabulary, in a playful exploration of organic geometries and pop animism. Using exclusively handmade techniques that emphasise intuition and play, she gives her objects a circular rhythm expressing the natural movement of the hand caressing a surface, all the while developing a design language that is consistent, yet relaxed. Combining the monolithic with the intimate and the curvaceous with the linear, the objects at the exhibition evoke a sense of unburdened, childlike exploration and imaginative world-building.

This is Carwan’s first solo show by a Greek female artist, which also adds another layer to the gallery’s representation, especially in regard to showcasing new talent from Greece.

Polina Miliou, Kyklos at Carwan Gallery - © Giorgos Sfakianakis