Since its inception, one of the primary aims of the DESTE Foundation has been to develop a wider audience for contemporary art in Greece and to enhance opportunities for emerging Greek artists by promoting their artistic developments. METRO: New Trends in Contemporary Greek Art 1999 came about as a continuation of the ongoing dialogue surrounding current art forms that DESTE fosters and supports. Curated by Dan Cameron, METRO showcases the work of nine artists who bring new perspectives and a fresh attitude to art-making.
The show aims to present the differing perspectives that characterize new, Greek art, as well as to present a critical assessment of recent developments. The works aim to articulate one of global culture’s most interesting concepts: the potential for local ideas and issues to be transformed into unifying principles that cut across cultural barriers of all kinds. With a range of media extending from painting to video installation and the Internet, the common trait in all works is a metropolitan artistic genealogy rather than any ideological or stylistic affinity, as well as a constant effort to locate some sense of order within the chaos of contemporary life. METRO does not aspire to be a comprehensive review of contemporary Greek art, but rather a sampling of its most recent developments that bear testimony to an increasingly growing and revitalized art scene. It reflects the pluralism and variety of this art scene and points to the general attitude of laissez faire characterizing so much of today’s art.
The DESTE Foundation in collaboration with the exhibition’s sponsor, INTERAMERICAN, will give a Prize at the end of the show, a travel grant to New York worth 1.000.000 drachmas. Decided by an international jury, the DESTE-INTERAMERICAN Prize will be awarded to the artist presenting the most challenging and innovative body of work and whose achievement is based on a sustained, coherent vision. A silent auction will also take place during the last two days of the exhibition, the proceeds of which will go towards the DESTE Foundation’s exhibition program.
Selection by Dan Cameron
JURY:
Iwona Blazwick – Curator, Tate Gallery of Modern Art, London
Dan Cameron – Senior curator, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
Katerina Gregos – Director, DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art
Dakis Joannou – President, DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art
Rosa Martinez – Independent curator
The 1999 DESTE Prize was awarded to Panayota Tzamourani.
