Project Name
Dio Horia
Location
Panahra Sq., Chora
Mykonos
Greece
Telephone
+306937897041
Email
[email protected]
Official Website
Dio Horia
Completed
2015
More Info

Exhibition opening hours: Daily, 10:00-14:00 and 18:30-02:00 
 

Detailed Information
Project NameDio HoriaLocation
Panahra Sq., Chora
Mykonos
Greece
Telephone +306937897041
Email[email protected]Official WebsiteDio HoriaCompleted2015
More Info

Exhibition opening hours: Daily, 10:00-14:00 and 18:30-02:00 
 

On the island of Mykonos, Greece, a new contemporary art space that opened its doors early this summer sets itself apart from the typical art-gallery-on-a-Greek-island format. Founded by curator and art historian Marina Vranopoulou, Dio Horia is an open art platform where the ‘micro’ and the ‘macro’ meet, acting, in the words of its founder, ‘‘as a bridge between local specificities and the global map of contemporary art.’’ Although an island is by definition an isolated entity (geographically and, more often than not, socially and culturally), this particular island is anything but. As one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, Mykonos attracts dedicated party-goers and jet-setters during the summer but is also home to a community of ‘‘educated bohemians,’’ as Vranopoulou likes to call them, a community that bought properties on the island in the 1970’s, well before it became so commercial and touristy, and now stay below the radar as they distance themselves from the island’s party crowds and overcrowded beach clubs.

Elias Kafouros, Telescopical, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 180 X 140 cm. Courtesy: AD Gallery, Athens GR. Photo © Elias Kafouros.

Elias Kafouros, Telescopical, 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 180 X 140 cm. Courtesy: AD Gallery, Athens GR. Photo © Elias Kafouros.

Dio Horia Contemporary Art Platform, Dio Horia in Mykonos exhibition, Installation view. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou

Dio Horia Contemporary Art Platform, Dio Horia in Mykonos exhibition, Installation view. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou

Rallou Panagiotou, Rubber Lineage II, 2014. Black marble, steel, spray paint, rubber, 80 x 70 x 38 cm. Courtesy the artist and Ibid London & Los Angeles.

Rallou Panagiotou, Rubber Lineage II, 2014. Black marble, steel, spray paint, rubber, 80 x 70 x 38 cm. Courtesy the artist and Ibid London & Los Angeles.

Honza Zamojski, Father God, 2014. Stone, steel, painted MDF column, h. 265. Photo: courtesy the artist.

Honza Zamojski, Father God, 2014. Stone, steel, painted MDF column, h. 265. Photo: courtesy the artist.

Panos Tsagaris, I Am An Infinity In The Becoming, 2015. Silkscreen on canvas, 85 x 57 cm. Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki.

Panos Tsagaris, I Am An Infinity In The Becoming, 2015. Silkscreen on canvas, 85 x 57 cm. Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki.

Selma Parlour, Metapainting (figure/ground 4), 2014. Oil on linen 61 x 50.5 cm. Photo © the artist. 

Selma Parlour, Metapainting (figure/ground 4), 2014. Oil on linen 61 x 50.5 cm. Photo © the artist. 

Selma Parlour, Reticle, 2012. Oil on linen 150cm x 160cm. Photo © the artist.

Selma Parlour, Reticle, 2012. Oil on linen 150cm x 160cm. Photo © the artist.

Aleksandar Todorovic, Iconostasis of Communism. Watercolor, ink and acrylic on paper, 2008, 90x70cm (unframed). Photo © the artist.

Aleksandar Todorovic, Iconostasis of Communism. Watercolor, ink and acrylic on paper, 2008, 90x70cm (unframed). Photo © the artist.

Selma Parlour, Metapainting (figure/ground 3), 2014. Oil on linen 50.5 x 61 cm. Photo © the artist.

Selma Parlour, Metapainting (figure/ground 3), 2014. Oil on linen 50.5 x 61 cm. Photo © the artist.

Olga Migliaressi-Phoca, I AM HERE, 2015. Print on canvas (digital collage of photography & found images), Width: 130 x Height: 110 cm, Edition 1 /1. Photo © the artist.

Olga Migliaressi-Phoca, I AM HERE, 2015. Print on canvas (digital collage of photography & found images), Width: 130 x Height: 110 cm, Edition 1 /1. Photo © the artist.

Hugo Canoilas, Wilderness compassing the abyss weight, 2015. Wax and acrylic ink and paint on paper, 150x120 cm. Photo by David Hanauer © the artist.

Hugo Canoilas, Wilderness compassing the abyss weight, 2015. Wax and acrylic ink and paint on paper, 150x120 cm. Photo by David Hanauer © the artist.

Dio Horia Contemporary Art Platform, Dio Horia in Mykonos exhibition, Installation view. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou. Left: Rallou Panagiotou, Twice Solid, 2015. Aluminium cast, car paint, 67x27x4 cm. Courtesy Ibid. London.

Dio Horia Contemporary Art Platform, Dio Horia in Mykonos exhibition, Installation view. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou. Left: Rallou Panagiotou, Twice Solid, 2015. Aluminium cast, car paint, 67x27x4 cm. Courtesy Ibid. London.

Dio Horia Contemporary Art Platform, Dio Horia in Mykonos exhibition, Installation view. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou. Left: Wilhelm Sasnal, Leros, 2014. Oli on canvas, 140 x 160 cm. Right: two paintings by Aleksandra Urban.

Dio Horia Contemporary Art Platform, Dio Horia in Mykonos exhibition, Installation view. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou. Left: Wilhelm Sasnal, Leros, 2014. Oli on canvas, 140 x 160 cm. Right: two paintings by Aleksandra Urban.

Aleksandra Urban, Sorceresses, 2014. Oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm. Photo: courtesy LETO Gallery

Aleksandra Urban, Sorceresses, 2014. Oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm. Photo: courtesy LETO Gallery

Vassilis H., Pelican, 2014. Steel, spray paint, 143x60x70. Photo © the artist.

Vassilis H., Pelican, 2014. Steel, spray paint, 143x60x70. Photo © the artist.

Maja Djordjevic, Painting, 2014. Oil on canvas, 220 x 130 cm. Photo © the artist.

Maja Djordjevic, Painting, 2014. Oil on canvas, 220 x 130 cm. Photo © the artist.

Rallou Panagiotou, Shampoo Cleopatra Mild Beauty, 2014. White marble, print on leatherette, wood, 117 x 80 x 2 cm. Courtesy the artist and Ibid London & Los Angeles.

Rallou Panagiotou, Shampoo Cleopatra Mild Beauty, 2014. White marble, print on leatherette, wood, 117 x 80 x 2 cm. Courtesy the artist and Ibid London & Los Angeles.

Selma Parlour, Lights Camera Action, 2014. Oil on linen 150cm x 170cm. Photo © the artist.

Selma Parlour, Lights Camera Action, 2014. Oil on linen 150cm x 170cm. Photo © the artist.

Installation view of resident artist Vassilis H.'s solo exhibition Vacation at Dio Horia, Mykonos. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou

Installation view of resident artist Vassilis H.'s solo exhibition Vacation at Dio Horia, Mykonos. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou

Selma Parlour, Magnificent Isolation, 2011. Oil on linen, 150cm x 163cm. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou.

Selma Parlour, Magnificent Isolation, 2011. Oil on linen, 150cm x 163cm. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou.

The name chosen for the platform reveals a lot about its mission and vision: meaning ‘‘two villages’’ in Greek, ‘dio horia’ also means two different spaces in the Mykonian architectural vernacular, reflecting the platform’s capacity to host up to two resident artists at a time but also pointing to the polarities that the project seeks to engage with. TV stars and politicians, flaneurs and businessmen, Chinese tourists and blissful Greek yiayias, backpackers and yacht-owners ....  all reflect the contrasts that can be found on Mykonos — which is why Vranopoulou thinks it is the perfect destination to start an art platform like 'Dio Horia' that aims to foster research, collaboration and public discussion about art whilst engaging with a wide audience.

Situated right in the heart of the Hora, the island’s main town and port, Dio Horia occupies a typical Cycladic whitewashed house. Visitors enter the main gallery space at ground level through a small yard that opens generously onto the small alley outside and feels more like an extension of the street rather than a private gallery’s entrance. On the first floor, two additional gallery spaces double as artist’s workspaces, complete with adjoining bedrooms, and on the rooftop a terrace with unobstructed views over the Hora and the bay welcomes visitors, offering the ideal spot for discussion and socialising. The amazing Dio Horia logo that graces the main entrance was designed by Thanos Karampatsos of Greek design duo ‘Greece Is for Lovers’ — its characteristic tone of blue used throughout the rest of the building as well to paint its many doors and windows.

Installation view of resident artist Selma Parlour's solo exhibition Paradoxes of the Flattened-out Cavity at Dio Horia, Mykonos. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou.

Installation view of resident artist Selma Parlour's solo exhibition Paradoxes of the Flattened-out Cavity at Dio Horia, Mykonos. Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou.

For the opening of Dio Horia in June 2015, the platform (which is being run by an enthusiastic team of three Greek women) staged its first group exhibition titled ‘Dio Horia in Mykonos’ showcasing works by Greek and international artists that relate or respond to Mykonos and its identity. Some of the works on display were created especially for Dio Horia, inspired by or as a reaction to the fantasies, stories and stereotypes and natural surroundings of Mykonos. For example, British painter Selma Parlour (one of the platform’s two first resident artists) created a new work inspired by the colours and microclimate encountered on the island; meanwhile, Los Angeles- and Paris-based Atelier Arizona created a breathtakingly elegant site-specific sculptural intervention installed on the building’s façade, inspired by propeller dynamics and the blades of Mykonian windmills. Many other artists responded to Vranopoulou’s ‘call to arms’, including the likes of Athens-based painter Yannis Varellas, Polish painter Wilhelm Sasnal and prolific illustrator Elias Kafouros.

Thoughtful and masterfully orchestrated, the exhibition tackles some inherent spacial difficulties (because of the building’s particular shape) inventively, all the while sustaining an intellectual depth that is nevertheless conveyed in an open, discreet and accessible way. With its maturity, humour and true sensitivity to its wider context, the opening exhibition of Dio Horia signals the launch of a very promising and worthy effort in an otherwise misunderstood location that deserves to be discovered anew.

{YatzerTip} As the monthly residencies programme of Dio Horia continues throughout the summer, new exhibitions will be opening in July and August. In the meantime, the group exhibition at the ground floor gallery will be open through October 31st. For more information please visit diohoria.com.

Two of Each: New Art Platform 'Dio Horia' on Mykonos Explores the Island's Contrasts

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