ALEXIS AKRITHAKIS
“This drawing is wrong.”
curated by Alexios Papazacharias
October 23rd - December 10th 2017
CASK Gallery
Larissa,
Greece
CASK presents the exhibition ALEXIS AKRITHAKIS, “This drawing is wrong.”
It is the second exhibition in Larisa, dedicated to his work, and the first one to be held in the city after his death. The exhibition features selected, typical works of the 1970s, period during which the artist lived mainly in Berlin. It is considered to be a particularly creative period for the artist in which painting and craftwork, paper works and books, memos and thought on diaries, poems and images coexist. During the 1970s the suitcase is established as trademark of his work, giving him broad recognition to the general public. The artworks hosted in this exhibition (painting, constructions and drawings) underline the coherence of his artistic signature, the diversity throughout his work, as well as his attitude before the Question called Art and the game called life.
Among the presented artworks there is a series of thirty one drawings shown for the very first time to the public, while one of these drawings is giving its title to the exhibition.
Text for the 31 drawings:
“I made some drawings with little squares and colours. I want to make many. It is nothing new. In this way I am playing. An art critic could write a hundred pages on ten drawings with little squares but you see I am not in the game…”
Berlin, 30/5/1976
Alexis Akrithakis
(from the artist’s notebooks”)
The 3630 little squares that Alexis Akrithakis painted in 1976 are shared on 31 drawings, all signed and dated with care while on 20 drawings the place of creation (Berlin) appears as well. Out of the 31 drawings, 3 were completed in 28/5 (321 little squares), 2 in 29/5 (234 little squares), 6 in 30/5 (637 little squares), 2 in 31/5 (162 little squares), 8 in 1/6 (1121 little squares) while on 10 drawings (1150 little squares) the exact date is not inscribed, just the year. 130 little squares on 2 drawings remain without any filling and 500 little squares on 10 drawings are filled with graphite. 1 drawing with 154 squares is made with graphite only and only 1 drawing with 70 little squares was drawn, signed, titled, dated in ink. For 3 drawings with a total of 401 little squares the artist has used the technique of collage. On 1 drawing 44 little squares are filled with little orange discs that remind of egg yolks or 44 round suns (not of the same size all of them). On 1 drawing 25 little squares are divided in 100 triangles, 50 yellow and 50 green. Only 1 drawing is made with 1 colour. 15 drawings consist of 2 colours, 7 drawings of 3 colours, 5 drawings of 4 colours, 1 drawing of 6 colours and 2 drawings of 7 colours.
Titles appear on 21 drawings ( 2339 little squares). On 6 of them (923 little squares) the titles are written in greek and on 15 (1416 little squares) in french. The same title is repeated for 3 drawings (388 little squares). All titles describe colour combinations except for 2 drawings (553 little squares). In the title of 2 drawings (351 little squares) numbers appear that describe the size (in little squares) of the arrangements on these drawings. Only 1 drawing (100 squares) includes in the title a description of the depth of the colour.
[…]During the five days between May 28th and June 1st 1976, Alexis Akrithakis creates in Berlin a series of drawings depicting arrangements of little squares. The artist describes this drawings as “nothing new” and any kind of momentous declarations on the subject of art, are replaced by “In this way I am playing.” From the beginning of his career until the end of his life, Alexis Akrithakis , always restless, hadn’t stopped being opposed to any methodology or manipulation was attempting to alienate art from whom it really belongs to: the artist and his audience. Artistic creation for Alexis Akrithakis is integral part of his life and his art of life itself. His work, which just like the artist himself resists categorization and conventional classification, is sharing between writing and painting, proving that there are not only similarities and differences between the two but these are two faces of the same coin. Writing, painting, constructions with wood, iron and any kind of material needed are the tools and the means by which the artist creates during the ’70s the most recognisable part of his oeuvre.[…]
This text is dedicated to Fofi Akrithaki who loved art, good friends and good deals.
(Alexios Papazacharias, from the publication ALEXIS AKRITHAKIS, “This drawing is wrong.”)
The curator wishes to dedicate this exhibition to Fofi Akrithaki
We wish to specially thank for her trust and collaboration Chloe Geitmann-Akrithaki
Special thanks for their precious contribution on making this exhibition possible to:
Nikos Raptis, Maria Dalamaga, Christos Bechlivanos, Irene Charalambides, Sonia Charalambides-Divani, Ariadne Geitmann, Leda Charissi, Spyros Papazacharias, Eirene Papaioannou, Panos Eskioglou, Stela Lamprouli and Agela Sytra
As well as for their support:
Hotel Metropol Larissa
Maria Dalamaga Ballet School
Organic Wines Eskioglou
Elaboration of educational program in collaboration with:
Drawing School - Sxedio Samara
Media sponsor:
larissanet & larissanet.gr
Artworks courtesy of Chloe Geitmann-Akrithaki.
All photos courtesy of CASK gallery and Chloe Geitmann-Akrithaki.
All artworks belong to private collections.