The Benaki Museum Shop is hosting the exhibition “Articulations”, by Christos Paplomatas, part of a series of exhibitions entitled Material Quests. These exhibitions are organised and held at the Benaki Museum Shop in order to present and promote artists from the fields of applied arts and design. “The exhibition features ‘architectural jewellery’ designed and handmade by architect Christos Paplomatas. Conceived along principles of architectural design, the pieces on display are small-scale wearable wooden assemblages to adorn the neck, the ear, or the hand. They consist of silver-engraved bits of ebony, whose mobility is ensured by tiny mechanisms such as wheels, pivots, hinges, or drivers. The metallic articulations literally define the ‘degrees of freedom’ of the piece, i.e. the axes along which it allows motion from its parts. The piece can assume a number of distinct forms, as its parts can be variously rearranged. The work invites us ‘to play with it’, both metaphorically and literally. Unlike much recent so-called ‘architectural jewellery’, Paplomatas’s work does not rest on the miniaturization of architectural elements or materials, which merely turns the anti-decorative character of architecture into its opposite. What it retains from architecture is something else altogether: the mutual integration of form and function. It calls into question the opposition between the functional and the decorative, the necessary and the unnecessary.” Jean-Philippe Narboux University of Bordeaux “The architectural education of Christos Paplomatas, during the period of the modern, has led him to an ancient greek – structural notion of decoration. A notion that relates to the constitution of the worlds, not as a superficial subsequent deposition of elements. This holistic approach allows him to enter the essence of things and to understand the deeper relationship between body and object. Such an understanding produces micro-constructions, which along with their interaction with the body generate new worlds, new situations. They produce “new melodies”, as they were perceived by the art and architecture of the 20th century. The hand skills that were cultivated by the architects of the modern (sketches, models), are evident in his work, revealing the endless possibilities in the relationship between hand, senses and thought. The wood, the metal and their in between articulation acquire a deep poetic dimension. The human hand and touch transform the matter and give it a voice, a hymn to the contemporary body.” Andreas Kourkoulas Architect, Professor N.T.U.A. Duration 22/03/2016 – 30/04/2016 (Opening: 02/04/2016, 19.00) Place Athens, Greece Benaki Museum - The Shop Pireos Street Annexe Organization The Shop of the Benaki Museum