Mr Robinson Crusoe stayed home
The exhibition proposes to reflect upon 鈥榗raft as power鈥, as an ability or capacity to act in order to reclaim the knowledge of design and artistic autonomy. The research on Robinson Crusoe as a maker lies at the very centre of this narrative. The exhibition refers to the example set by Daniel Dafoe鈥檚 hero who, initially stuck at an impasse, reaches completion and proves his value when he is forced to act and to find solutions to problems he has never faced before. During the period when a large part of the Benaki Museum鈥檚 permanent display of 19th-century material is relocated from the 3rd floor of the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture to the Benaki Museum / Pireos 138 for the anniversary exhibition 鈥1821; Before and After鈥, this contemporary art exhibition 鈥榦ccupies鈥 the galleries and reflects on their transitional stage.
螚ere, craft鈥檚 critical dynamic, which relates to the search for authenticity, the rejection of mass production and the reflection on concepts like 鈥榯radition鈥, 鈥榤eans鈥 or 鈥榩rocess鈥, becomes a medium and a strategic practice for redefining the priorities between the artist, the artwork and the audience. The 36 participating artists present their works inside this overcharged with significance space by paraphrasing, using and upsetting the museum鈥檚 construction, the representation of history and the viewing conditions of the artwork. The exhibition thus explores the relations between the autonomy of art and the 鈥榟eteronomy鈥 of everyday life by activating practices from the full spectrum of creativity and interpretive concepts like work, performance, functionality, production, bricolage and reuse.
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The exhibition proposes to reflect upon 鈥榗raft as power鈥, as an ability or capacity to act in order to reclaim the knowledge of design and artistic autonomy. The research on Robinson Crusoe as a maker lies at the very centre of this narrative. The exhibition refers to the example set by Daniel Dafoe鈥檚 hero who, initially stuck at an impasse, reaches completion and proves his value when he is forced to act and to find solutions to problems he has never faced before. During the period when a large part of the Benaki Museum鈥檚 permanent display of 19th-century material is relocated from the 3rd floor of the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture to the Benaki Museum / Pireos 138 for the anniversary exhibition 鈥1821; Before and After鈥, this contemporary art exhibition 鈥榦ccupies鈥 the galleries and reflects on their transitional stage.
螚ere, craft鈥檚 critical dynamic, which relates to the search for authenticity, the rejection of mass production and the reflection on concepts like 鈥榯radition鈥, 鈥榤eans鈥 or 鈥榩rocess鈥, becomes a medium and a strategic practice for redefining the priorities between the artist, the artwork and the audience. The 36 participating artists present their works inside this overcharged with significance space by paraphrasing, using and upsetting the museum鈥檚 construction, the representation of history and the viewing conditions of the artwork. The exhibition thus explores the relations between the autonomy of art and the 鈥榟eteronomy鈥 of everyday life by activating practices from the full spectrum of creativity and interpretive concepts like work, performance, functionality, production, bricolage and reuse.
Artists on show
- Alexandros Psychoulis
- Alexandros Tzannis
- Alexandros Vasmoulakis
- Aliki Panagiotopoulou
- Anastasia Douka
- Antonis Pittas
- Dionisis Kavallieratos
- Eugenia Vereli
- Eva Papamargariti
- George Gyparakis
- Giorgos Tserionis
- HOPE
- Ilias Koen
- Irini Miga
- Jannis Varelas
- Kostas Sahpazis
- Malvina Panagiotidi
- Margarita Bofiliou
- Maria Antelman
- Maria Georgoula
- Maria Papadimitriou
- Maro Michalakakos
- Martha Dimitropoulou
- Nana Sachini
- Nikos Tranos
- Nina Papaconstantinou
- Paky Vlassopoulos
- Panos Tsagaris
- Petros Efstathiadis
- Stefania Strouza
- Theodoros Zafeiropoulos
- Vanessa Anastasopoulou
- Virginia Mastrogiannaki
- Yorgos Sapountzis
- Zissis Kotionis
- Zoi Gaitanidou
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