Rethymnon, January 25, 2010
On Sunday, February 7, 2010 between 12:00 and 14:00 an exhibition was inaugurated at the halls of the Contemporary Art Museum of Crete entitled “I like to adorn myself” with the participation of 19 Greek artists.
The title of the exhibition was taken from the work of Nike Kanaghini bearing that title, a close collaborator of the Museum of Rethymnon, who passed away in the spring of 2008.
The exhibition had already been shown in Athens the previous December at the “House of Cyprus” and received very positive reviews and extensive articles were written about it in the Athenian press.
The work by Kanaghini which gave the exhibition its title “I like to adorn myself” was a juxtaposition–synthesis of two photographs, a portrait of a woman by Veronese and one of the model Verushka.
It had been presented in 2002 at the exhibition “Renaissance-Recycling” in Mytilene at the Georgiadis Mansion during the 3rd Summer Academy of the National Theatre of Greece.
Other works by the same title, unknown or more recent were found in Kanaghini’s studio which were included in the exhibition, curated by Maria Maragou under the organizational support of Maria Panayiotidou’s art productions.
Maria Maragou wrote about the exhibition “I like to adorn myself”:
“The question of the adornment of the body [ornatus] is a fleeting and conceited need which defines the identity and looks forward to eternity.
Although it indirectly approaches beauty, it does not necessarily constitute beauty since adornment as well as aesthetics vary and are differentiated in cultures throughout the centuries as well as according to the geographical position. The nose piercings of the peoples of Africa and of those of western societies express a narcissistic vanity which defines comportment as well as the need to defy established practice.
The adornment as an everyday practice and as a ritual, the need to declare the individual person and body and his clothes and ornaments as well as the adornment of the dead from the ancient grave goods to the contemporary shrouds, coincide with consumerist and social concepts and poses questions concerning the work of art itself which remains a “grave good” of the ego of the artist who sometimes looks forward to eternity”.
The following artists participated in the exhibition: Dimitris Antonitsis, Evgenia Apostolou, Antonis Volanakis, Stamatis Zervas, Poly Kokkinia, Anni Kostopoulou, Maria Loizidou, Maro Michalakou, Dimitris Baboulis, Margarita Myrogianni, Dimitris Dokatzis, Agelos Papadimitriou, Ioanna Ralli, Panos Famelis, Lina Fanouraki, Sokratis Fatouros, Nikos Charalambidis, Yula Hatzigeorgiou, Antonakis Christodoulou.
The exhibition remained open until March 30, 2010.
In the context of the exhibition there were, as always, guided tours and educational programs for students of elementary schools and junior high schools and the following:
Saturday, February 6
Educational program-meeting between the jewellery artist Lina Fanouraki and young people from the Art Workshops of the Contemporary Art Museum and local jewellers.
Saturday, February 6
Guided tour by Maria Maragou-Artistic Director of the Museum
Sunday, February 7
Guided tour by Maria Maragou
Sponsors: Karavias & associates. Lloy's coverholder.
