Greek Narratives in Contemporary Art: Works by Female Visual Artists, Bia Davou and Rena Papaspyrou, Showcase the Richness of Greek Culture Abroad

Bia Davou (1932–1996) and Rena Papaspyrou (1938) are notable contemporary Greek female visual artists who have made significant contributions to the international art scene. Both artists showcase the richness of Greek culture and contribute to the global dialogue in contemporary art, enhancing the visibility of Greek voices on the international stage. Their unique approaches reflect the complexities of modern life and the interplay between tradition and innovation.

Bia Davou’s evocative works are currently on display at MUDAM Luxembourg, while Rena Papaspyrou’s captivating pieces are showcased at the Hellenic Centre in London (photo above). These exhibitions represent a vibrant presence of contemporary Greek art on the international stage. Bia Davou and Rena Papaspyrou’s works not only highlight their individual artistic journeys but also underscore the rich cultural heritage and innovative spirit of Greece today.

Bia Davou, “Serial Structures” series and a “Sail–Odyssey” at MUDAM Luxembourg. Photo: Mareike Tocha © Mudam Luxembourg

The National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) has loaned 30 works from Bia Davou’s “Serial Structures” series along with a piece titled “Sail–Odyssey” to MUDAM Luxembourg for the exhibition “Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960-1991”. This exhibition reflects a unique perspective on digital art prior to the internet era.

Bia Davou, Serial Structures 2 – Odyssey, 1978–1981, Ink and pencil on graph paper, 21 × 29.7 cm each, 2002, EMST Athens collection

In the mid-1970s, Bia Davou, influenced by the new computer technology as well as her faith in the social and communicative nature of art, conceived and adopted a serial methodology as the organising principle of her practice, based on the binary notational system (the digits 0 and 1) and the Fibonacci sequence. Using white and black dots as structural elements, she initially depicted various sequences that emerged from the relationships between the two preceding units on graph paper. The drawings in this series illustrated a visual code of communication that the audience could immediately understand.

The extension of the same practice onto burlap – in the slow, laborious nature of the writing/sewing process – led Davou to the Homeric epic of the Odyssey and the work series Serial Structures 2 – Odyssey (1978–1981). In it, she organised the Homeric verses on the basis of numerical series and transcribed them into a geometric alphabet, creating associations between the triangular shapes of the sequences and the sails of ships. The work reveals Davou’s trust in weaving, which is, arguably, the practice that reflects, more than any other handicraft, the weaving of the myth; tangible proof of the connection between text and textile, the written language and the thread (Source: National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens).

Bia Davou, Sails, 1981, fabric, EMST Athens collection, installation view, Documenta 2014, Friedericanum, Kassel, photo: Nils Kllinger

Bia Davou (1932–1996) was born in Athens. She studied painting at Costas Iliadis’s studio (1952–1958), where she also worked for a while as his assistant. In 1960, she presented her first solo show in Athens (Nees Morfes Gallery). In the early years, her painting evolved from representation to abstraction, retaining her focus on the structure of the visual language. A defining shift in her work occurred in the late 1960s when she gradually abandoned the canvas for three-dimensional constructions and environments. Around the mid-1970s, she began taking an interest in the issue of communication in a broader sense, while she also became familiar with the language of mathematics and computer science. She developed her compositions based on the binary system and the Fibonacci sequence. Since the early 1980s, the poetic dimension of her work has been enhanced with references to the text of the Odyssey and ancient myths. Her work was presented in twelve solo exhibitions, most of them in collaboration with Desmos Art Gallery. She took part in several group shows and international art events. In 2008, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens held a major retrospective of her work, with a comprehensive catalogue-monograph published alongside. (Source: National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens).

Also read: Bia Davou, Documenta 2014

The exhibition “Images Through Matter” (Wednesday 02 Oct 2024 – Saturday 16 Nov 2024) at the the Hellenic Centre, London marks the London debut of Rena Papaspyrou, one of Greece’s foremost post-war artists. Since the 1960s, Papaspyrou has drawn inspiration from the architecture of her Athens neighborhood, using found materials like bricks, tiles, mosaics, and sections of old walls. She enhances the natural cracks, dents, and marks with pencil and paint to create evocative images, sculptures, and installations.

Images Through Matter showcases Papaspyrou’s unique approach, featuring 22 representative works spanning from the 1970s to the present. Dr. Nayia Yiakoumaki, Director of The Hellenic Centre, says, “This exhibition presents a significant body of work by a leading female European artist. We are immensely proud to introduce Rena Papaspyrou to the UK, aligning with our mission to bring the best of Greek culture to London.” The exhibition is curated by Inês Costa, Curator, Focal Point Gallery and Dr. Nayia Yiakoumaki, Director, The Hellenic Centre, with Grace Strasen, Public Programme & Events Co-ordinator, The Hellenic Centre. (Source: The Hellenic Centre, London).

Rena Papaspyrou, Associative images – trees, 1989 – 1994, Installation, Ink and pastel on fabric and mosaic tile, Variable dimensions, EMST Athens collection

Rena Papaspyrou was born in Athens in 1938. During the period 1956-67 she studies in the Athens School of Fine Arts and at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. During 1993-2005 she teaches as a professor at the 3rd painting studio of the Athens School of Fine Arts. Since 1967 she has realized numerous individual exhibitions in Greece and abroad, with the most recent being Flashback in the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki in 2009, accompanied by the publication also entitled Flashback. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions such as Avanguardia e Sperimentazione in Modena and Venice in 1978, Emerging Images in Europalia 1982 in Antwerp, at the XVII Biennale of Sao Paolo at 1983, Metamorphoses of the Modern, the Greek Experience at the National Gallery in Athens in 1992, P+P=D, From the Activities of the Desmos Gallery at Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art in 2000 and in the exhibition of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens “The Years of Defiance: The Art of the ’70s in Greece”, in 2005. She is professor emeritus in the Athens School of Fine Arts. She lives and works in Athens. (Source: National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens)