ARTIST PROFILE

Zoi Pappa

  • Greece (b. 1975 in Athens)
  • Currently in Chalkida, Greece.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work is a reaction against the prevailing values and structures of society. A romantic refusal of that ‘sense of reality’ which strives to invade and control the personal sphere of emotions. Through the use, of a language half-rooted in the sub-conscious imagery of symbols, dreams and myth, and half-rooted in the outer world of impressions, science, nanotechnology, physics, mathematics, architecture, chemistry, biology and anatomy, I attempt to achieve a ‘non-sense’ and an incoherence that leads to the entire exploration of the inner sense and the substance. A poetic transformation of the world into a spiritual world, where everything is combined and related. My desire is to go beyond the values of current morality, to return to innocence and create a world independent of any logic or principle.


BIOGRAPHY


Studies

Graduate of the Visual and Applied Arts Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Fine Arts (studio: Yannis Fokas, 5 years),1993-98.

Master of Fine Arts (MFA, 2 years) at Glasgow School of Art, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 2000-02.

Seminars

• Future Leaders Orientation, ‘Leader 2010: Leadership and Ethics’, 2004

• Contemporary Issues in Fine Art with the Art Historian John Calcutt, 2002

• I visited, Helsinki to participate in an international exchange project organized by NIFCA (The Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art) in order to have discussions with the curators and artists of NIFCA,2001

Awards

First winner of the international contest Nuovi Mondi, Corte, Rome, Italy, 2015.                                                    

http://www.nuovimondi.squarespace.com, http://www.benvenutiacorte.it,

https://www.facebook.com/nuovimondicontest

Lectures

• Guest speaker at the conference "From bazaar to hamam. Art outdoors", Thessaloniki Center of Contemporary Art, State Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki, Greece, 2008.

• Lecturer at the Cultural lecture entitled “…without walls. Tauma Queen” (Subject : Presentation of the exhibition Trauma Queen. The un-built museum of Contemporary Art and the un-built forms of visual arts interference),UN-BUILT– 2008, International Architecture Research Events,SARCHA, Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece, 2008.

• Guest lecturer as artist / curator in “Transition and Art – Art in Transition”, “Balkanart’07”, Museum of Contemporary Art in Novi Sad, Serbia, 2007.

Research Papers

• Existential Art, Research in the art of Performance, 2002.

• The American Action Painters, 2001.

Curatorial- Professional experience

• Art tutor in several institutions, 2003-15

Guest Curator (with the project Lex–icon), to PLATFORM TRANSLATION, 4TH EDITION “On Books and Translation” , Creation of artist book entitled  “Phobophobia”, Beirut, Lebanon,  2011.

http://98weeks.blogspot.gr/2011/07/platform-translation-4th-edition-on.html

 • Guest Curator of the international exhibition “Street Hacker”, Centro de       Extensión de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, Curator: Natalia Arcos, 2009.

http://platformtranslation1.wordpress.com/santiago-de-chile

Curator of the International Exhibition Trasleat me, Platform Translation in Athens-Greece, 2008.

    http://transleatme.wordpress.com/2008/10/,    

    http://platformtranslation1.wordpress.com/athens/

Curator of the international exhibition “Trauma Queen”. Curators: Zoi Pappa, Harris Kondosphyris, Guest curator: Cristian Rupp, 2007.

Curator of the International Exhibition ‘Who cares about Greek art?’. Owner (of studio-project space) Zoi’s ,2006.

• Presentation of Omio, studio-project space Zoi’s, 2006.

• From 2006-08, I was an active member of Reconstruction Community[1].

• Art Director in the children theatrical piece ‘There was a time’, Athens-Greece, 2004.

Curator of the 6th Marathon of Recycle and Creativity Trash Art that took part in Bio’s under the Municipality of Athens, Athens, Greece, 2003.

• 8 months Employee for the Exhibition Department Contemporary Art space Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland, 2002-03.

• 7 months part-time employee for the Exhibition Department of the Glasgow

  School of Art, Mackintosh Gallery and Newbery Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland, 2001.

Exhibitions                            

Solo Exhibitions

Biomatochrom, Olga Georgantea Gallery, Voula, Athens-Greece,2000.

Group Exhibitions

2015

• ALTER -Light and Land Insight, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Sicily, Italy.

https://www.facebook.com/altercontemporanea?fref=ts

http://www.sitespecific.it/index.php/projects/alter         

Spacescape, Palazzo di Lorenzo, Galatina,Lecce, Italy.                                                                                                                                        

https://www.facebook.com/events/959526384092843/permalink/959573104088171/

Nuovi Mondi, Corte, Rome, Italy.                                                                                                                  

http://www.nuovimondi.squarespace.com, http://www.benvenutiacorte.it,

https://www.facebook.com/nuovimondicontest

2014-15

The Celeste Choice,The Format Contemporary Culture Gallery, Milano,                                        

Italy, curator Guido Cabib, www.theformatgallery.com                                                                                                                                 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1511596739091892/permalink/1511599322424967/ 

2014

ICRI, Research and Art, Contemporary Art Exhibition-Competition,                                                         

Megaron Athens Intrernational Conference Center, Athens, Greece.

www.icri2014.eu/research-art-competition-and-exhibition

• Cheap Art Limassol, Penidaplinena Gallery, Limassol, Cyprus.

2013-2014

• Santorini Biennale of Arts-International Poster Exhibition Design a wish for Greece, Tokyo, Seóul, Mumbai, Calcutta, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Beijing, Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, London, Berlin, Moscow, Paris, Milano, Rome, adrid, Athens, Thessaloniki, Tel Aviv, Santorini.  http://artists.santorinibiennale.gr/biennale-initiatives/design-a-wish-for-greece-2013-artists-artworks-exhibitions/

2011

Sapporo Pre-Biennale Contemporary Art Exhibition 2011 – Approaching Art by Leaving Art Behind – 9 Days the Museum Disappears, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan,.http://www.sapporo-biennale.jp/2011kinbi/conpetition_nyusen.html, http://www.sapporobiennale.jp/2011kinbi/compe/04_zoipappa.html, http://www.sapporo-biennale.jp/2011kinbi/compe/04_zoipappa_s.html

PLATFORM TRANSLATION, 4TH EDITION “On Books and Translation”,  Beirut, Lebanon, http://98weeks.blogspot.gr/2011/07/platform-translation-4h-edition-on.html

  2009

Street Hacker, Centro de Extensión de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, San Diego, Chile. http://platformtranslation1.wordpress.com/santiago-de-chile/

  2008

Transleat me, 48-50 Aiolou, Athens, Greece.

http://transleatme.wordpress.com/2008/10/, http://platformtranslation1.wordpress.com/athens/

• Athens Video Art Festival, Gazi, Athens, Greece.

Illuminators, Art-Koltsovo, Yekaterinburg airport, Russia.  http://artpolitika.ru/200/index.html

 2007-08

Visual Arts in Greece, Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki, Greece.

• Blind Date #12, Thission Lofts, Athens, Greece.  http://blinddate12.blogspot.gr

• Transpositions, Martinos, Athens, Greece.

2007

Trauma Queen, Mediterranean Hotel, Athens, Greece.

• Visibility, Cheap Art, Athens, Greece, http://www.vsblt.com

 Part time punks, Deste Foundation, Athens, Greece.

•  Video Art. Start from zero. Festival Zero, Alekton, Athens, Greece.

•  Against censorship, Iasonos 45, Athens, Greece.

 FemFest’ 07, Cetvrtak,  Zagreb, Croatia.

•  Opa, International Performance art festival, Bio’s, Athens, Greece.

•  Festival Miden, Kalamata,Greece.

•  Deconstructing life ,Fototherapy Festival 2007, Rethimno, Crete, Greece.

 One minute Festival , Aarau,  Switzerland.

 2006

• … a pineapple doughnut. Of cooked crudeness..., Kypseli market,,  Athens, Greece.

•  Ineffabile e indicibile: Le Arti oltre il dire, Biennale di Poesia di Alessandria

 XIII Edizione, Alessandria, Italy.

• Beautiful strokes of Greece, Aleppo, Damascus, Syria.

• Reclaim art, 4th Social Forum, Greek Airport, Athens-Greece.

Who cares about Greek Art? , Zoi’s, Athens, Greece.

 2003

11th Biennale of Young Artists of Europe and the Mediterranean , “Cosmos’’, Ilion, Athens, Greece.

2002

• MFA Glasgow 2002, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland.

• Her story, YWCA, Meridian, Black and Ethnic Women’s Minority Center, Glasgow, Scotland.

 2001

•  Interim MFA, Mackintοsh gallery, Newbery Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland.

2000

•  Recycle art, Gazi, Athens, Greece.    

•  Drap art, MACBA, Barcelona, Spain.  I was nominated to represent Trash

 Art of Greece in Barcelona.

 1999

•  Trash Art , Gazi, Athens, Greece.

•  Ovens, Gazi, Athens, Greece.

•  Studio: Yannis Fokas, Artforum Vilka Gallery,Thessaloniki, Greece.

•  Images of Young Artists, Milos, Thessaloniki, Greece.

 1998

• The other crown, Milos, Thessaloniki, Greece.

• Art Alert, Milos, Thessaloniki, Greece.

• Days of Expression and Creativity, Friends of Melina Mercouri Foundation,

Pavillon 2, HELEXPO,  Thessaloniki, Greece.

• Pictor, A European Workshop, at the Alatza Imaret, with professors Francois Martin and Aumn Arezki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

• 5η Heineken Art, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art,Thessaloniki, Greece.

 1995-1997

• 4η Heineken Art, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece.

• 3η Heineken Art, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art,Thessaloniki, Greece.

• 2η Heineken Art, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art,Thessaloniki, Greece.

Press references

• «Transleat me-eat me», art magazine ‘Highlights’, issue 38, January-February 2009, page38.

• «Comprehensible art», newspaper Nea, 15 December 2008, page 25.

• «Lost in art», magazine Athensvoice, 4-10 December 2008 page108.

• «Art with minimum means», newspaper Nea,, 10 December 2008 page 24.

• « Lost in Translation », magazine Madame Figaro, issue 170, December 2008, page 92.

• «Platform Translation. Underground spirit in Aiolou», περιοδικό Faq, 27 November -3 December 2008, page 54.

• «Weekly Planner», newspaper Proto Thema, magazine Big Fish, 16 November 2008, page 76.

• «They refuse to swallow », newspaper Nea, 14 November 2008, page 21.

• «Pot-Pourri», magazine Velvet, issue 37, November 2008 , page 62.

• «Monsieur cannibal», magazine Athinorama, issue 444 ,13-20 November 2008.

• «Cannibal Art –Transleat me», magazine Ozon, issue 63, November 2008, page 20.

• «Art without boundaries», newspaper Macedonia, 27 January 2008.

• «Blind date», magazine Vimagazino, 30 December 2007, page 6.

• «Without money- with happiness », newspaper Kathimerini, 21 October 2007.

• «Inside-out traumas», newspaper Kathimerini, 14 October 2007, page 3.

• «Old and new traumas », newspaper Nea,, 10 October 2007, page 7.

• «Art went to bazaar», magazine Vimagazino, 7 October 2007, page 24.

•  Extensive and potential “vision” , magazine ‘Highlights’, issue 30, Sept-Oct. 2007, pages.54-56.

• «Harris Kondosphyris- Zoi Pappa», magazine Ozon, issue 51, September 2007, page 36-37 (Interview).

• «Trauma Queen, with inspiration», magazine ‘Down Town’, issue 617, September 2007.

• «A short promenade », newspaper Eleftherotipia, 24 September 2007, page 5.

• « Trauma Queen. Pain creates ..», newspaper Proto Thema, 23 September 2007, page 2.

• «Traumas want their humor », newspaper Eleftherotipia, 14 Augaust 2007, page 29.

• «Who cares about Greek art?», magazine Athensvoice, issue 13 , 02-03- 2006, page 28.

• «Who cares about Greek art?  Greek and International artists in a dialogue- exhibition…», art magazine ‘Highlights’, issue 20, Jan-Feb 2006, pages 60-61.

• «Almost thirty. Young, handsome, British educated?», magazine Athensvoice, issue 113, 23 February-

  1 March 2006.

• «Who cares about Greek art?», magazine Athinorama, issue 301 ,16-23 February 2006.

• «Who cares about Greek art?», magazine City, issue 210 ,16-22 February 2006, page 48.

• «Who cares about Greek art?», magazine Gap, issue 7 , Jan-Feb 2006, pages 29-32.

• «Art and chemistry», magazine Chemical Chronicles, issue 1-2, Jan-Feb 2005, pages 41-42 (Interview).

• «Focus», magazine Velvet, issue 6, February 2006, page 13 (Interview).

• «Who cares about Greek art?», magazine Ozon, issue 6 , February 2006, page 17 (Interview).

• « Alice in wonderland », magazine Nitro (Lipstick), issue 14, May 2000, page16.

Publications

• Phobophobia

• Street Hacker

• Balkanart’07, Museum of Contemporary Art in Novi Sad, Serbia.

• Trauma Queen

• Athens Video Art Festival

• Visibility

• Visual Arts in Greece, Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki, Greece.

• From bazaar to hamam. Art outdoors, Thessaloniki Center of Contemporary Art,

State Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki, Greece.

• Part time punks, Deste foundation.

• FemFest’ 07

• Who cares about Greek Art?

• Illuminators, Art-Koltsovo, Russia

• 11η Biennale of Young Artists of Europe and the Mediterranean

• Biomatocrom

• Pictor

 

 

 


[1] * Reconstruction Community was a platform initiated by a group of art theorists and historians, architects, sociologists and artists; it was about a quest of synthesis through dialogue and collective action. The starting point had been the rethinking of the actual scene of Athens as a contemporary metropolis. With regard to the notion of "reconstruction", associations with architecture, history, politics, are always taken into consideration, provided that this was not in a restrictive sense. Selected actions. Tunnel 14, “ … a pineapple doughnut. Of cooked crudeness, Kypseli Market, Athens-Greece.