Vasilis Galanis & Markellos Kolofotias participate at CORNUCOPIA group show

According to mythology, the “Horn of Amalthea” (in latin cornu copiae), was a symbol of the abundance of goods. As an iconographic type, it is usually depicted as a large vessel in the shape of an animal’s horn, full of food for consumption.

“Cornucopia” is inspired by the increasingly precarious labor circumstances for artists and art professionals in Greece, looking to comment on the endless demand and consumption of creative products, while the very subjects involved in the arts cannot support themselves financially. At the same time, artistic production is taken for granted in a country that prides itself on having a rich culture, when people working in the cultural sector have little to no funding to sustain themselves and their practice. In this light, the eight participating artists are reflecting on their position at the center of the society of spectacle, showcasing creative interpretations of a lived experience in the cultural field. Sticking to their own style, means, and character, each person has chosen to approach the topic in a symbolic, poignant, or playful way, seeking to renegotiate their identity in a time of false affluence.

Aiming to critically deal with the perception that treats the contemporary artwork as yet another commodity, the space of Kyan Athens has been deliberately set up in a way that resembles a restaurant, where the artworks are already “served” and ready for consumption, concealing the hours/days of unpaid labor that are actually involved in their making. In a context that brings out a sense of pretentious abundance, within which the artists offer their fruits of labor on a plate, the visitors are invited to focus on the materiality of the presented objects, and in this regard possibly reconsider their consumption habits, especially when it comes to excessive accumulation of goods that are made practically for free. The aim is to unveil the often-invisible reality behind the pretentious perfect image presented in the Artworld, which perpetuates a state of avarice for the few and exhausts the creators.