Homo Universalis Revisited at Remap4

Homo Universalis Revisited
Curated by Maria Papaioannou and Maria Dialektaki

Dimitris Baboulis, Leonidas Giannakopoulos, Nikos Gyftakis, Thanos Klonaris, Maria Lianou, Amelia Newton-Whitelaw, OrĂ©, Nana Sachini, Philippos Theodorides, Sofia Touboura, Marina Velisioti

47 Iassonos
08 Sep – 30 Sep 2013

Mon – Fri 5.30 pm – 9 pm
Sat – Sun 12 am – 9 pm






Trying out new media and exploring new ways of expression helps expanding the technical, aesthetic and conceptual framework of creation. Yet, it is a very demanding and difficult procedure. Today’s dire financial crisis and the consequent growing general uncertainty make experimenting even harder. Thus, sometimes artists find working within a more recognizable pattern and complying with a given identity simply safer. For others, limiting down their creativity is another way to fit in the demanding and extremely competitive art world. However, from Pablo Picasso and Louise Bourgeois to Adam Chodzko and Ryan Gander, the artistic creation presents an illustrious line-up of artists who kept and keep experimenting with different media, forms and contents.
‘Homo Universalis Revisited’ is an exhibition that investigates the concept of the Renaissance man by means of focusing entirely on the ability of the artist to use and express him-/herself in different mediums and art forms. This exhibition is also an experiment; it will try to see whether the artist of today can personify the restless and inquisitive spirit of the universal man.
 ‘Homo Universalis Revisited’ is focusing on the role of the artist, which is often taken to be an attempt to recast reality in different expressive modalities. Crucially, artists live and work within a specific sociocultural context, which unavoidably drives, and even channels, their (artistic) creativity. In this sense, the role of the artist constantly changes along with the setting within which they operate.
So, how can the artist of a given ‘today’ express the ever- changing ‘zeitgeist’ in terms of new mediums without losing the constitutive elements of his/her own identity? Paraphrasing the homo universalis, what is the importance, as well as the value of absolute success? How can it be measured when it is being tested and contrasted to the new, the different and the non-recurring?
Eleven artists who work with a wide range of media were asked to experiment with a medium they have never worked before or a new art form. ‘Homo Universalis Revisited’ has invited them to explore different materials and styles and in this way trace the endless possibilities of human creativity through exploring an aspect of their work unknown equally to their audience and themselves.