Opening-Preview: Thursday, September 14, 2023
Duration: September 14-17, 2023
Location: Zappeion Mansion, 105 57 Athens, Greece
Gallery: Lola Nikolaou, booth R20
Peggy Kliafa participates with the artworks:
ARMOUR or MIGRAINE KILLER DRESS –HOMAGE TO ANDY WARHOL
2019/2022, Armour/dress on a metal hanger made of empty blisters of pills that treat migraines and painkillers, alluminium sheet, plexiglass, screws, medical IV pole with wheeled base and stop, 190 x 60 x 54 cm (dress on hanger: 104,5 x 60 cm)
ARMOUR or FLAPPER DRESS and Go on with your Bad Habits
2022, Armour/dress made of pills blisters and medicines that treat respiratory diseases (asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease etc) and nicotine dependence, alluminium sheet, plexiglass, metal chain, metal screws, medical IV pole with wheeled base and stop, 190 x 60 x 54 cm (armour/dress: : 90 x 60 cm)
ARMOUR or SLIMMING DRESS
2019/2022, Armour/dress on a metal hanger made of empty blisters of pills that treat cholesterol and obesity, alluminium sheet, plexiglass, screws, medical IV pole with wheeled base and stop, 190 x 60 x 54 cm (dress on hanger: 104,5 x 60 cm)
Pink Painkiller Armour/Dress
2022, Armour/dress on a plexiglass hanger, pills blisters and real pills for pain and inflammation, alluminium sheet, plexiglass, led light, cable, 105 x 60 x 4,5 cm
Peggy Kliafa participates in Art Athina 2023 with Lola Nikolaou’s Gallery. In this year’s fair she chose to present an installation composed of four “armour/dresses”. Three of them are hanged from medical IV poles and one is wall-mounted. They are assemblages made of full or empty blisters on metal surfaces combined with plexiglass. Through her innovative installation, the artist interprets, in her own words, “medicines as an armour that protects one’s body against disease, in the same way that a dress is a woman’s “social” armour”. Apart from being a timeless female symbol, the dress is now seen in a different light as a result of the materials from which it is made. Four dresses engage in a conversation about health problems that are mostly associated with women, like migraines and obesity, as well as their treatment with medication. Peggy Kliafa brings to the surface women’s constant battle to fit into the “dress”, while their body and soul are paying a high price.
Every “armour/dress” is a symbol both of protection and threat. It is a comment on the dual nature of medicines which is the main feature of Peggy Kliafa’s work.
The artwork entitled ARMOUR or MIGRAINE KILLER DRESS is a homage to Andy Warhol and the famous paper-dress which was created in the ‘60s. It was printed with Cambell’s soup labels to touch upon the issue of overconsumption. Moreover, this A-line dress determined the form of the dresses of Peggy Kliafa’s “armour/dress” series.
The ARMOUR or FLAPPER DRESS and Go on with your Bad Habits is an artwork made of pills blisters and medicines that treat respiratory diseases and nicotine dependence. It regards medicines as the easy way that allows the addict to carry on with their “bad habits” without the disturbing or damaging effects on their health. How bad can the excessive use of medication be for one’s health? Especially when it is generally considered as “therapeutic”?
Right next to it, there is the ARMOUR or SLIMMING DRESS, a work made of blue pills that cause weight loss and blisters of medicines that treat metabolic disorders. The anxiousness resulting from body shaming affects both men and women, as well as the struggle to live up to an ideal body type. They usually resort to bad choices for their health, avoiding the hardships of a healthy diet. Medicines are the easiest and fastest way to loose weight, but they are also the most doubtful one.
Lastly, the work named PINK PAINKILLER ARMOUR/DRESS is made of pills and blisters of medicines that fight inflammation and ease the pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases that affect mostly women. This atypical dress consists of pills on which many people depend in order to stay active at the expense of their health. According to the artist’s explanation, “the vertical stripe in the middle of the dress is not purely decorative but is really a symbol of the human doubt about the overconsumption of pharmaceutical products which often lies behind their ignorance of the real source of the problem. It is also my attempt to give shape to the phrase “cut in two” that we usually use to describe pain”.
Four “armour/dresses” raise the question of life quality. Νo matter how attractive or lightsome they are, οutward appearances are often dangerous and misleading. The artist appeals to us to base our judgment on only one factor, that being the contents within. It is a constant struggle. Hard, yet lifesaving.
Katerina Kritikou
Art Historian
Opening: June 20 2018
Exhibition duration: June 21–24, 2018
Location: Athens Conservatoire, Vasileos Georgiou B 17, 106 74 Athens, Greece
Peggy Kliafa participates in Art Athina with 6 artworks:
Armory Square – Placebo Series, 2017, 140 x 140 cm. Aluminum pills blisters,
silicone, plexi glass, led light tape
Armory Shield – Placebo Series, 2018, Φ 110 cm. Aluminum pills blisters,
silicone, aluminium “foil”, plexi glass, led light
Bacteria V, 2015, 140 x 140 cm. Small aluminum foils from the back side of the pills’ blisters on canvas, acrylic sprays, warm silicone
Vitraux III, Orleans, 2018, 142,5 x 88,2 cm. MDF with metallic paint, empty pills blisters on clear plastic sheets, led light, cable
Pill’s Portrait, Viagra, 2013, 75 x 63 cm. Acrylic colors on canvas, wooden frame
YOUTH, 2018, 55 x 100 x 10 cm. Light box by plexiglass, Botulinum ToxinA vials, led light
in the Booth B7 of Lola Nikolaou Gallery, together with the visual artists Christina Sarandopoulou and Thalia Gatzouli.
ABOUT ART ATHINA 2018:
Main: 51 local and international galleries shape the Main section of Art Athina.
Highlights: Curated by Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos, Artistic Director of Art Athina.
Participating galleries: 0-0 LA (Los Angeles), Emalin (London), Galeria Quadrado Azul (Porto), Hot Wheels Projects (Athens), Lapaix (Paris), Modern Shapes (Antwerp), Soft Opening (London), Stems Gallery (Brussels), Syndicate (Cologne)
Feature: A section conceived and organized by an annually appointed curator. This year’s section will be curated by Artemis Baltoyanni. Participating galleries: Balice Hertling (Paris), Bonny Poon (Paris), Bureau (New York), Callicoon Fine Arts (New York), High Art (Paris), Koppe Astner (Glasgow), Rodeo (London), Union Pacific (London)
Tribute: Art Athina 2018 pays tribute to the oeuvre of Tamuna Sirbiladze (1971 Tbilisi–2016 Vienna) in collaboration with Galerie Charim (Vienna)
Video: The DESTE Foundation participates in Art Athina 2018 with works by two women artists, the Dutch Rineke Dijkstra (b.1959) and the Swedish Nathalie Djurberg (b.1978).
Talks: The Talks program of Art Athina 2018 is curated by Katerina Nikou, independent curator and curatorial assistant of Public Programs in documenta 14.
Performance: The performance program is fueled by the participating galleries of Art Athina 2018.
Design: The design project of Art Athina will be taken over by Antiqua gallery (Athens) and will be presenting historical design furniture, lighting and decoratives from masters of design of the post war period, together with works of art by greek modernist artists.
In 2018, Art Athina introduces four new synergies establishing the institutional character of the fair.
Art Athina Award, powered by Copelouzos Museum (10.000 euros).
Art Athina Workspace
Art Athina 2018 offers the opportunity to produce directly in Athens the works that will be presented at the fair, through a month-long residency in Athens, in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and Athens Culture Net.
Art Athina Educational Program
A synergy with the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation.
Art Athina Open Studios
Art Athina Open Studios invites the Young Patrons of the Museum of Cycladic Art to studio visits with artists represented by the participating galleries of Art Athina 2018.
MORE INFORMATION:
Exhibition duration: 17th – 20th of September 2015
Location: Beirut, Lebanon with Kappatos Gallery, Booth A1 in BIEL, Hall2
Peggy Kliafa participates in the show with the artwork:
Mosaic II Omphalio, 2011, 103×103 cm. Mosaic on MDF, acrylic colors, pills, plexi glass
Peggy Kliafa participates in BEIRUT ART FAIR 2015 which takes place from the 17th to 20th of September 2015 in Beirut, Lebanon with Kappatos Gallery, Booth A1 in BIEL, Hall2.
At the same booth Kappatos Gallery will also present the work of the following artists it represents:
Marina Abramovic, Lynda Benglis, Michalis Katzourakis, Yorgos Papafigos, Vassilis Salpistis, George Sapsonidis.
BEIRUT ART FAIR will continue to maintain the existing artistic links between the Middle-East, North Africa, and Asia, thanks to the work carried out by the galleries that participate every year. Based on a demand for quality and on the willingness to make new discoveries, the same approach, which is observed in the past years, will bring the galleries together once again. So 51 galleries, coming from 19 countries, will present more than 1500 artworks from 300 artists.
Alongside galleries and artists from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, United States, and Asia thematic platforms reinforce BEIRUT ART FAIR’s position among the international fairs.
“Since 2010, BEIRUT ART FAIR has conquered the international scene with a ME.NA.SA stamped art vision. It has become a primary source of information on artists, trends, galleries, publications, and institutions, contributing to the increasing importance of art in this region” explained Laure d’ Hauteville.
Exhibition duration: 4th – 7th of June 2015
Location: booth Β2 of Kappatos Gallery, Faliron Pavilion, TaeKwondo Stadium
Peggy Kliafa participates in the show with the artwork:
Placebo I or Medusa, 2015, work’s height: 110cm (chain’s height: variable), Φ 60cm up, Φ 12,5cm down. Chandelier made of transparent gelatine capsules, fishing line, cables, bulbs, bronze
Peggy Kliafa participated in Art Athina 2015 at the booth Β2 of Kappatos Gallery, presenting a new artwork entitled Placebo I or Medusa. It is a chandelier made of bronze, empty, transparent zelatine capsules and fishing line forming a rather classical medusa shape. The piece belongs to the big unit of works which have as a subject the “Medicines” and it deals with the phenomenon of the placebo effect by using an object which gives light-energy without having “content”.
At the same booth – as one may see from the images – Kappatos Gallery has also exhibited artworks of other artists that it represents as: Marina Abramovic, Linda Benglis, Martin Creed, Santiago Sierra, Michalis Katzourakis etc.
The art fair Art Athina 2015, which took place this year from the 4th to the 7th of June at the Faliron Pavilion (TaeKcondDo Stadium) have been visited by 39.000 visitors (record number), due to the remarkable program with high quality standards, with central core the galleries. The parallel program of the fair, with speeches, presentations, exhibitions etc. was coordinated in a common pulsation with the visual propositions of the galleries.
In the vivid spirit of the fair contributed the 800 artists, by presenting artworks deriving from all the means of expression: painting, sculpture, photography, video art, and constructions, as well as the 41 art galleries from 13 countries, which presented artworks that composed a representative picture of the contemporary visual reality in Greece and abroad.
Launched in 1993 by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association, Art-Athina stands today as one of the longest lasting contemporary art fairs in Europe and as the largest annual visual arts event in Greece. A meeting point for international artistic creation, Art-Athina brings together significant Greek and foreign art galleries, cultural institutions, curators, collectors, art critics and art lovers.
Last year’s Art-Athina was held with great success from 15 to 18 May 2014 at Faliron Pavilion (TaeKwonDo Stadium) and was enthusiastically received by some 35,000 visitors!
After a successful 19th edition, Art-Athina the International Contemporary Art Fair of Athens is back with its 20th edition that will take place on 4-7 June 2015 at the Faliro Pavilion (TaeKwonDo Stadium).