Marina Karella "Liquid Gold," 1992
The Tenth Anniversary

Venue: ARTFLYER space for the arts, Athens, Greece

Dates: June 24 – December 31, 2021
Download Press Release

Curated by: Alexia Antsakli Vardinoyanni

Exhibition Overview

ARTFLYER, a new art space dedicated to contemporary visual art, opened its doors on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Kifissia, Athens Greece.

Already active for a decade, www.artflyer.net, a cutting-edge network for research and presentation of contemporary art, is now taking on physical form.

Alexia Antsakli-Vardinoyanni’s initiative is aimed at engaging visitors with contemporary art, giving opportunities to young artists, and generating a fruitful dialogue between innovative contemporary artists and the Greek public.

Participating in the opening show, entitled ‘The Tenth Anniversary’, are the top Greek and international artists and influential figures in the arts who have been featured on www.artflyer.net– including Adel Abdessemed, Ron Arad, Tony Cragg, Urs Fischer, Jacques Grange, Dakis Joannou, Marina Karella, Mary Katrantzou, Harold Koda, Christian Louboutin, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Nicolas Party, Laudomia Pucci, Imran Qureshi, David Shrigley, Kiki Smith, Joana Vasconcelos, Bethan Laura Wood, Erwin Wurm – with a work of art or a personal item that represents them and has decisively influenced their creative expression. Rare creations from the worlds of art, fashion and design, as well as objects of singular value, being presented for the first time in a collective, innovative show. Photographs and quotations taken from the www.artflyer.net interviews are on display in the gallery garden to enhance the exhibition.

Participating Artists (alphabetically):
Adel Abdessemed, Ron Arad, Tony Cragg, Urs Fischer, Jacques Grange, Dakis Joannou, Marina Karella, Mary Katrantzou, Harold Koda, Christian Louboutin, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Nicolas Party, Laudomia Pucci, Imran Qureshi, David Shrigley, Kiki Smith, Joana Vasconcelos, Bethan Laura Wood, Erwin Wurm

From left to right: Tony Cragg "Hedge," 2016; Joana Vasconcelos "Beauty," 2019
Urs Fischer "Egg," 2018

Curatorial Framework

A Decade of Voices and Visions

This exhibition celebrates the first ten years of ARTFLYER by focusing on the people who helped shape it. It takes place in the former home of the thinker Zissimos Lorenzatos, a domestic setting long associated with ideas, culture, and exchange.

The exhibition not only highlights individual creative journeys but also reveals the unexpected intersections between them, moments when paths cross and practices resonate. Together, these connections form a web of relationships that embodies ARTFLYER’s spirit: an independent arts initiative built on curiosity, dialogue, and support for both emerging and established voices.

In the garden, white columns rise like totems, each displaying quotes from interviews published during ARTFLYER’s first decade. Surrounded by trees and natural light, these columnar forms create a contemplative path that invites visitors to discover more about the works and the people behind them.

In the garden, white columns rise like totems, each showing photographs and quotes from interviews published during ARTFLYER’s first decade. They accompany the artworks and personal objects on display, inviting visitors to learn more about the people and ideas behind them.

Nicolas Party, Study for Blue Portrait, 2020

“The use of the different blues give the portrait a melancolique mood; the shirt has a dragonfly motif taken from a piece of Art Nouveau furniture by Émile Gallé.”

 

Nicolas Party

Bethan Laura Wood "Hot Desk," 2020
Chatelaine purse in silk satin, Collanine motif, designed by Christian Lacroix for Emilio Pucci F/W 2004–05 collection
Erwin Wurm "Parent's House Narrow," 2019. Through humor, Erwin Wurm's work exposes the constraints of domestic life and social norms, while empowering viewers to imagine new ways of thinking, living, and being.
Erwin Wurm "Earth Measure," 2015, One Minute Sculpture. These sculptures defy traditional sculpture by transforming brief human actions into sculptural moments. In these works, participants follow simple instructions and, for a short time, become the artwork itself.

Dakis Joannou, Coca-Cola bottle with Dunhill pipe, 1964

“On December 30, 20141 turned seventy-five. This is a point in life when you look back and ask … ‘What have  I done? What have I left behind?’ Well, here it is. In 1964, I left New York for Rome to continue my studies in architecture. My art worlds were clashing – Pop vs. Surrealism – and  I was trying to bring them together. Duchamp calmly smoked his pipe … I kept smoking mine … The result? This Surreal object I created fifty years ago! A Warhol Coke bottle with my favorite Dunhill straight grain pipe, joined and painted white. Many thanks to Urs Fischer for helping me produce five hundred copies of this ‘work’.”

 

Dakis Joannou

Adel Abdessemed "Cocorico painting, Au-delà du goût," 2017–2020
Imran Qureshi "Story of Two," 2019

Poster from Kiki Smith's personal collection

“I know the poster might seem strange and not very charming looking, but bees are one of my big inspirations. My husband is a beekeeper, and I spent the last several years planting for the bees and other insects. I’m making drawings of pollinators, and I am slowly also working on a tapestry of them. The bees have very much helped my health. They are just one of the great, and endangered, miracles of the world. They are just more amazing than anything nice I have in the house.”

 

Kiki Smith

Christophe Gaignon, "Purple Rain," 2018 submitted by interior designer and avid collector of contemporary art Jacques Grange
Pyrite, submitted by designer Christian Louboutin; a work from his personal collection.
Jean-Michel Othoniel "Peony, The Knot of Shame," 2014; Adel Abdessemed "Cocorico painting, Au-delà du goût," 2017–2020; Nicolas Party "Study for Blue Portrait," 2020; Tony Cragg "Hedge," 2016
From left to right: Mary Katrantzou "Dixiecult Dress AW14 Look 9," 2014; Ron Arad "Where Are My Glasses," 2021; David Shrigley "Untitled Eggs/Arms," 2017
Spreads from Harold Koda’s personal Vogue magazine collection. Left: poppies photographed by Irving Penn. Right: Catherine Deneuve photographed by Richard Avedon.
ARTFLYER Ten Year Edition

To celebrate its decade, ARTFLYER released a limited edition set of printed flyers, bringing the interviews and key insights together in a collectible format for readers and art lovers.

Flyers featuring the interviews

All photographs and text © 2025 Alexia Antsakli Vardinoyanni