The Benaki Museum Shop presents Maria K. Ghisi's latest collection “Anti-pathos” at the Shop of Pireos 138, as part of the series "Material Quests”.

Artist statement:

"My "Glyptic stories" are based on ideas derived from myths. Myths as geometric laws of the universe and manifestations of the collective subconscious are stored in the mind as symbols, as small “sacred” stories, our personal myths. The symbols do not require an explanation, as they are an awakened reaction due to observation, mine & subsequently the viewer.

The mythology of the Far Eastern cultures coexisting with my Mediterranean heritage deeply influenced my field of research on organic and mineral matter. My black & white choice of materials suggests the colour of memory, black & white movies and old family photos. In my eyes the mysterious black-white synthesis is haunted by the moonlight. It echoes and evokes the Japanese paintings of equilibrium and rhythm achieved through observing the shadow of a moonlit subject as it is projected on silk.

In Ancient Greece, the black coral, the dominant choice of my materials in the Collection named after it, Anti-pathes or Anti-pathos (against hardship, disease & evil-eye), was an antidote for scorpion stings and various health problems or had the use of a talisman against diseases. Like a bead-cell in the body of the composition, it supports it and is individually supported. A creative image that conveys the reminder of the true human nature, which the isolation of the pandemic put in a ban, through the lack of the thrill of touch and contact, necessary in overcoming the laborious hours of manual and physical energy of completing the work. Τhe carving hand-symbol substituted as a beloved memory and had been transformed into an arc of protection that abolished isolation, through the companionship of traditional carving tools and the visually tangible wealth of materials. It offered the inner trigger of the necessary protection of feathered and non-feathered, precious noble creatures that are in danger of extinction and deserve to be saved. Thus began the composition of a symbolic hymn on artefacts that can be worn around the neck (necklaces) or on the heart (brooches), conveying the message of the mandatory protection of winged beings’ natural beauty and innocence, of the compassionate values ​​that surround them and at the same time the essential sheltering of the carving surfaces (precious as ebony) of their documentation.

By directing my energy into the surface material, in harmony with its physical properties, without a demand of influence on its nature, I co-existed with its quality & essence that does not require manipulative interventions. The sensation of touch opened a dialogue between form (internal image) and the external environment (sustainability of species), a visual dialogue that seeks another reading, a reading based on the spreading of the symbolic essence of the Glyptic Art and not the Art as an object."

Duration: 27.04.2023 – 21.05.2023

138 PIREOS ST., Athens