PRESS RELEASE
'The Olive Tree A Rooster Called Home'
A solo textile art exhibition and fee free Greek Embroidery workshops by Loukia Richards
@ Coco-mat Antwerpen, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, MAY 2011
It will be hard to trace any olive trees or roosters in Loukia Richards's solo exhibition at the new Coco-mat stores in Belgium and The Netherlands but in the title.
Richards, a textile artist, a Hochschule der Kuenste Berlin graduate and Fulbrighter, makes use of a stereotypical image of Greece in her show title 'to attract ''unaware visitors'' and surprise them with unorthodox works and doings'.
Richards's textile work (tapestries, soft sculptures and selected textile jewellery) reflect the influence of modern Greek culture and weaving traditions, while the artist's personal Odyssey through techniques, materials and foreign influences is prominent in the show.
The show, as well as the e-catalogue the visitor may download for free, is divided into four relevant chapters or colors:
Red for Greece's national insurrection in the early 19th century, for the fatricidal civil war of the late 1940s and for the rejuvenating power of joyful Greek Easter - Black for death and mourning reflecting the dark sides of Greek history, inflated with wars and foreign invasions, as well as for the Hesiodeian chaos which gave birth to cosmos, according to mythology - Green for the plant deities, spring, flourishing hope and creativity - Blue for the sea surrounding, connecting and enriching the country of over 3,000 islands, a source of innumerable myths and legends.
Richards's work shown in the exhibition includes her 'embroidery notes' on Washington DC (The Washington Diary), her fiber experience from working as an AIR at Ted Noten Atelier in Amsterdam's Red Light District (Holy Bitch), her family's recollections from the bloody civil war that shadowed her childhood with pain and mourning (Death Dolls).
The focal piece of the show is the old style Greek flag, embroidered with Greek Embroidery motifs from the 17th and 18th century.
Its title: 'NO!' (OXI!) refers to a word echoeing the resistance of Greek people to foreign invadors throughout their history: from the Persian wars in the antiquity to the nazi occupation in the early 1940s.
There is another element in the show which may surprise the visitor. She/he may participate in the fee free Greek Embroidery workshops taught by the artist (in English). 'In a way, visitors are encouraged to perform the craft that lead to this show and by becoming active participants of the event, they get a better understanding of the living Greek culture and the background that produced this work', Richards says.
Guests will also have the possibility to try their newly acquired skills on a piece of textile which will be used to build the world's biggest mattress, an ecology-focused international event Coco-mat organizes on June 15th in Marathon, Greece.
(For more information on the 'Marathon project', please visit www.coco-mat.com or e-mail: edavlamanou@coco-mat.com).
Richards completed her research on Greek Embroidery at The Textile Museum in Washington DC funded by a Fulbright Foundation grant. The results of this work - sketches made of traditional 17th and 18th century motifs - are published in the e-catalogue. "It is: a) a much cheaper alternative compared to print material b) 100% eco-friendly d) can be home-printed and finally e) sponsors may also 'e-publish' it in their websites thus 'spread the word' to their respective audience', the artist says.
Richards dedicates her show and e-catalogue to the animals and plants of Greece inspiring her work and life.
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'The Olive Tree A Rooster Called Home' details:
Where: Coco-mat (Antwerpen, Amsterdam, Rotterdam)
The event is under the auspices of The Theoharakis Foundation (www.thf.gr), a private museum of modern and contemporary art in Athens.
Corporate sponsors of the show are: Coco-mat (www.coco-mat.com), Pireaus Bank (www.piraeusbank.gr/), Superfast Ferries (www.superfast.com), Domain Skouras (www.skouras.gr)
Communication sponsors are: British 'The Needle Files' - Dutch website for international embroidery www.berthi.web-log.nl - US digital plaftorm for the arts http://www.findartinfobank.com/
Show and e-catalogue curator: Dr. Alexandra Tranta, Archaeologist - Museologist
Digital communication + E-catalogue design: Vagelis Stournaras
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Schedule:
Coco-mat Antwerpen
De Keyserlei 11
+ 32 (0)3 2316 806
from 3 to 10 Μay, 10.00 am to 6.00 p.m.
Please note that on Sunday 8 May the shop remains closed
During the show, the artist will teach fee free Greek Emboidery workshops (in English):
From 3.00 to 5.00 pm at Coco-mat in Antwerpen (but for Sunday 8 May)
Coco-mat Amsterdam
Overtoom 89
+31 (0)20 4892 927
from 12 to 19 Μay, 10.00 am to 6.00 p.m. (including Sunday 15 May)
Please note that on Monday 16 May the shop opens at noon.
During the show, the artist will teach fee free Greek Emboidery workshops (in English):
From 10.00 am to noon at Coco-mat in Amsterdam (but for Monday 16 May)
Coco-mat Rotterdam
Westblaak 25
+31 (0)10 2829 807
from 21 to 28 Μay, 10.00 am to 6.00 p.m. (including Sunday 22 May)
Please note that on Monday 23 May the shop remains closed.
During the show, the artist will teach fee free Greek Emboidery workshops (in English):
From 3.00 to 5.00 pm at Coco-mat in Rotterdam (but for Monday 23 May)
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If you wish to participate in the fee free Greek Embroidery workshops you do not need to give previous notice.
Do not forget to bring with you the following materials:
a piece of textile to embroider - cotton or/and silk threads - embroidery needles - a soft pencil - a notebook - scissors
and (optional)
textile colors - pencils, pastels or markers - pins - your questions
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Loukia Richards (Athens, 1965)
The Onassis Benefit Foundation funded my studies at Hochschule der Kuenste, Berlin (1988-1993). A perplexing kilim design fueled my desire to study fibers. A Fulbright Foundation grant facilitated my research on Greek Embroidery at The Textile Museum in DC (2008). My soft sculptures inspired by the Red Light Disctrict 'sex workers' in Amsterdam, while an AIR at Ted Noten Atelier (2009), express contemporary agonies through traditional techniques. The 'Hillary Clinton' doll I created for the touring exhibition 'I Care A Lot' on the Middle East conflict (Trier, Stockholm, Lisbon - 2010), convinced me 'toys' can talk politics. As the curator of the first Greek municipal AIR program last summer, I used 'female crafts' to express death, mourning, civil war.
For more information, please contact:loukiarichards@yahoo.com
The Needle Files Blogspot is a communication Sponsor for "The Olive Tree A Rooster Called Home".
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