Ntina Anastasiadou – Μaria K. Ghisi – Georgia Gremouti
The G. Gounaropoulos Museum presents, under the auspices of the Embassy of Japan in Greece, an exhibition with representative works by three artists, Ntina Anastasiadou (Sumi-e Zen Ink Painting), Maria K. Ghisi (Netsuke Japanese Miniature Sculpture) and Georgia Gremouti (Origami Paper Folding), conveying the philosophy of Japanese art.
The exhibition captures the creative journey of three Greek female artists, highlighting the Japanese aesthetics in coexistence with their Mediterranean origin. Their choice of materials and their symbolic subject matter focus on ideas about transient beauty through the simplicity and reduction of excessiveness; the silently fleeting way of change, the ephemeral and the concept of ever flowing time.
Opening: Tuesday 8 April 2025, 19:00
The festive character of Japanese modern everyday life (such as the Harajuku Girls or Koinobori – the children’s day celebration with the symbolic association of the happy koi fish) in Ntina Anastasiadou’s works, paintings (sumi-e) on handmade Japanese paper (washi) or fabric, as well as, ceramic and bronze sculptures, embodies the principles and Japanese philosophical values celebrating the respect for nature, birds and animals as inseparable and equal to the human existence elements.
The hymn to nature, also perceived in the works of Maria K. Ghisi through hidden mythological symbolisms, transform them into miniature arks of protection (apotropaic in nature), such as the Summer Night Whispers – a necklace of 19 ojime beads from the Anti-pathos (black coral) collection. Her jewellery and micro-sculptures embody messages such as saving the sustainability of species, environmentally conscious attention of the selected preciousness of materials and the ancient carving techniques revival.
Georgia Gremouti’s works (on paper, fabric and clay, such as the series Platonic solids, Sacred geometry and origami) centre on themes of identity, transformation, metamorphosis and the depiction of the concept of emptiness (Ma). Walking the philosophical paths of the Japanese minimalist aesthetics she combines simplicity, abstraction and essence, with performances (Folding Chronotopia) and installations (Paper Gardens).
Myths, the geometric laws of the universe and manifestations of the collective subconscious are ingrained in the minds of the three Greek female artists as symbols that influence their research and exploration of the material aspects of the world, and consequently become a means for understanding the universe and its essence.
central picture: Georgia Gremouti
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You can read here Prof. St. Papalexandropoulos’ introduction to the exhibition:
