Vassilis Skilakos (1930-2000) never missed an opportunity to state that he “draws while playing”. “My work has always started from that extreme point, where something else becomes completely useless, loses all meaning of existence, any former function. It is interesting for me to give life to what is no longer needed, to make visible what is not there, ”he said.

Speaking to visual artist Rena Papaspirov about this artist, who is considered one of the most charismatic and consistent representatives of the post-war generation, she recalls how he collected useless and unassuming materials from the street or from thrift stores, which he brought to life in his works. . Thanks to the art of assembling, these discarded remnants of the urban industrial culture turned into “still lifes” consisting of plastic, household items and children’s toys. Some of the specific toys that were included in Skylacos’ builds also belonged to her own children, who grew up and no longer needed them. It is only when integrated into works that these old toys turn into “monuments of an era” and “materialized memory of the past,” as the philosopher Hans Heinz Holz pointed out in a text that accompanied the artist’s solo exhibition at the Desmos Art Gallery in 1976.

Epi-protonotary

The relationship of Epi Protonotario from Desmos with Vassilis Skylakos was intimate and creative. He was one of the talented artists who staged historical exhibitions in her gallery, and they collaborated many times. Christoforos Marinos, art historian, curator of OPANDA exhibitions and events, dedicates a large retrospective exhibition “Vassilis Skylakos. Hand. Works 1957-1997″ (until 23/4).

The title of the exhibition presented in the Art Gallery of the Municipality of Athens, on the one hand, indicates the strictly handmade nature of the work of this particular artist, on the other hand, it refers to the antique shop of the same name, which he ran, as well as to the solo exhibition “Hand. Workshop – Antique Shop “, which he held at Desmos in 1992.

“Skylakos’ work is basically intuitive. It is based on emotions, not on intellect,” Mr. Marinos comments on the multifaceted artistic practice of a visual artist. Speaking about how he approached the material in his work, “digging” the surface of modernity, he recalls the characterization given in the 1970s to the “new realists”: “archaeologists of modernity.”

“Skylakos, of course, didn’t need nicknames,” says the curator. “Art is not only about creating things, but also about observing,” he used to say. And, as he proves with the abandoned works, he himself was an astute observer of urban culture, able to emphasize the usefulness of the useless, ”he concludes.

Christoforos Marinos is also curating the artist’s second exhibition, which opened at the Roma Gallery on Tuesday (until April 29). Exhibition “Journey. Works 1960-64″ includes works created by the visual artist during his residence abroad (he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, completed his studies in Copenhagen and Paris) and on the trips he made during this period. Skilakos’ visual diary records – in the most abstract form – his impressions of these short or long stays in foreign places.