Von Bartha is pleased to present two solo exhibitions by Danish art group SUPERFLEX and Swiss artist ATHENE GALICIADIS in the gallery’s Basel space, 12 November 2021 – 29 January 2022. SUPERFLEX: There is an Elephant in the Room, will continue the artist group’s playful analysis of systematic structures through themes including the financial crisis and ecology, in the gallery’s South Space. The Presence, is Athene Galiciadis first solo exhibition at von Bartha gallery, and will consist of large scale paintings as well as installation works, in the gallery’s North Space.

For Athene Galiciadis’ first solo show at von Bartha Gallery, titled The Presence, the artist will present a wide range of mixed-media works including paintings, a spatial installation and a light installation. From a young age, the artist has been fascinated by the sculptural quality of temporary architecture such as construction sites, camps and temporary dwellings. Beyond the aesthetic, the artist explores the concept behind shelters that humans create and the questions of how, when, where and why we take possession of our environment – the emergence of structure, order and hierarchy formed out of nothing.

The site specific shelter that Athene Galiciadis has built in the gallery is accessible to visitors and combines sculpture and painting creating a large, integrated artwork. The light installation also refers to archaic actions, in this case the creation of fire and light, a catalyst for social community, encounter and exchange. The large scale paintings were created over the course of a year, during which Athene Galiciadis applied layer upon layer of diluted paint, thus making the artistic process itself the subject of the painting.

With the title of the light installation the Presence (das schlechte Gewissen) (translated: The Bad Conscience), Athene Galiciadis puts her finger in the wound of Western culture: we constantly have a bad conscience about everything we do – a sign of alienation from nature and our responsibility for the world.

About Athene Galiciadis
Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Athene Galiciadis studied Fine Arts at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL). Galiciadis’ works are characterised by her typical colour palette and repertoire of forms, many of which are geometric and organic in nature, echoing concrete art and its precursor, Constructivism. She assembles her works from various materials and develops her own formal language that invokes associations with tradition, craft, and design. Patterns, models, theories, science and spirituality are all themes that Galiciadis uses as tools in her work. Her current works focus on the reciprocal relationship between painting and sculpture. Painted works are placed in spatial relation to sculpture, while sculptures are painted or reproduced in painting. Notable solo shows include: Spiraling Shifts (2019) Nidwaldner Museum Winkelriedhaus; I shall wash your shadow (2017), BolteLang Gallery, Zurich; Planetaria (2014), Galerie Emmanuel Hervé, Paris; and Sublunatic, sic! (2013) Raum für Kunst, Luzern. Recent group shows include: Kosmos Emma Kunz (2021) Aargauer Kunsthaus. Recent accolades include: the Schlesinger Foundation Scholarship (2017/18), the UBS Grant (2012) and the Prix Mobilière Suisse Art (2011).

Supported by Arbeitsstipendium Covid-19, City of Zurich.

Opening: Friday, November 12, 6 – 8pm