George Hadjimichalis
HOSPITAL
12 June – 6 November 2005
Official Opening: 10 June 2005, 5 - 7 p.m.
Greek Pavilion at 51st Biennale di Venezia
www.ghadjimichalis.gr
Commissioner and Curator: Katerina Koskina
Assistant Curator: Nadja Argyropoulou
George Hadjimichalis is presenting the mixed media installation HOSPITAL, at the Greek Pavilion in the Giardini della Biennale in Venezia. According to Foucault, a hospital is a juncture of space, language, death and the gaze. Hadjimichalis HOSPITAL puts the viewer at a crossroad of critical moments of human existence. It offers the visitor both a momentum of contemplative introspection and a wandering gaze through the windows. The installations four components consisting of a) The Building, b) The Plan of the Building, c) Views from the Windows, d) A moment in the mind of Mr. A.K. touch on all four dimensions incorporating time in form of memory, both personal and collective. Together they form a physical and imaginary geography another place which transcends borders and boundaries imposed by the real world around us – an aspect further underlined by the flags of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent flying on the roof of the Pavilion.
More than that, George Hadjimichalis reanimates the idea of the social sculpture, opening the space from the white cube that represents the pavilion. He literally leaves the art ambience behind, introducing an initiative for a voluntary blood donation in co-operation with AVIS (Association of Italian Voluntary Blood Donors), at the Hospital of Venice. A special info kiosk will be situated at the entrance of the Giardini, providing information on this initiative and raising awareness among the public. Art becomes an instrument for survival, far beyond the philosophical term. The truly political action is to create art which is as personal as possible. (G. Hadjimichalis)
George Hadjimichalis (b.1954) is one of the foremost contemporary Greek artists. Since 1985, he has mainly focused on the creation of large scale installations, which attest to the relation of the work of art with the collective memory and emphasize its social character.
George Hadjimichalis lives and works in Athens. Selected Solo Exhibitions in the past years include George Hadjimichalis: Works 1985-2000, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens; George Hadjimichalis: Seven Works, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; Bernier/Eliades Gallery, Athens; The Lighthouses of the Aegean Sea (installation aboard the F/B Apostolos P sailing from Piraeus to Aegina), Greece. Selected Group Exhibitions include: Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany; De la main à la tête, LObjet théorique, Centre Regional d Art Contemporain, Kerguehénnec, France; Contemporary Art from Greece, York City Art Gallery, England; Y.Tsarouchis, S. Antonakos, G.Hadjimichalis, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/M., Germany; The Pioneers, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki; Breakthrough! Greece 2004: Contemporary Perspectives in the Visual Arts, Alcalá 31, Madrid, Spain. In 1995, George Hadjimichalis, started his Workshop of Projects and Images in Crisis, which, apart from being the title of a work still in progress, is also the workshop that accommodates most of the artists activities.
A new catalogue on George Hadjimichalis will be available at the occasion of the 51st International Art Exhibition of Biennale di Venezia, published by the Greek Ministry of Culture and AGRA Publications (order no. ISBN 960-325-592-0). Comprising 144 pages with 50 color illustrations, the book also contains texts by the artist, commissioner Katerina Koskina, Daniel Marzona and Michael Savvas.
The Hellenic Participation 2005 is kindly sponsored by the Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation.
Supported by G. Karavias & Associates, authorized correspondents to Lloyds.
Partners: ANEK Lines, ERT (National Greek Television & Radio), Athens 98,4 FM and 104,4 FM.
Blood Donation: An Initiative of the Greek Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennial
Transfusion Centre: Venice Hospital, Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Castello, Venice, T: 39 041 94576
Opening Hours: 8h:00-10h:30
Headquarters: AVIS, Community Sector, Giuseppe Cimegotto, Calle della Cavallerizza, Castello 6698, Venezia
T & Fax 39 041 5131 450, e-mail: avise@inwind.it
For interviews and further information please call the Greek Pavilion at 39-041-241 2369 or contact the Press Offices:
International Press:
European Art Projects,
Tel 49-30-30 38 18 37
Fax 49-30-30 38 18 30
am@european-art-projects.com
Greek Press:
maria panayides art productions
Tel 30 210 6912331
Fax 30 210 6980673
panayides@ath.forthnet.gr
For images and further texts please view: www.ghadjimichalis.gr
