MYLONA GALLERY
www.mylonagallery.com
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST POSITIONS,
RHY ART FAIR BASEL, 16-19 JUNE 2016
MYLONA GALLERY presents:
LIFE - MICRO TO MACRO VIEWS
In a joint exhibit, the artists Wanda Pratschke and Yiorgos Angelopoulos expose
contrasting views of life from microscopic elements to macroscopic interpretations of the
human body.
In the laboratory, staining of cells using coloured dyes and India ink assist the
microbiologist to better visualize cellular structures by enhancing contrast of
microbiological elements. Tissues which absorb stains are called chromatic. Chromosomes,
which contain the DNA that determines all forms of life were named from the Greek words
for color, χρῶµα (chroma) and body, σῶµα (soma) are so-called because their ability to
absorb coloured stains. Hence, in the origins of all life we have the intellectual
connection between colour and body. The exhibit proposes an artistic representation of
colour, body and life. Micro and macro, chromatic and monochrome, two dimensional and
three dimensional forms are juxtaposed.
The artist, Yiorgos Angelopoulos, takes us on an
intimate exploration of minute visions of life with
his works on Plexiglas that infer biological
origins. The works, evocative of larger-than life
renderings of microscopic slides, symbolise a
magnifying effect, based on the idea that in order
to understand the enormously big, we need the
theoretical and experimental findings of the
research on the microscopically small, accompanied
by an artistic attempt to harness and rationalize.
The almost spherical microcosms convert into cells
that emit light, into hearths of a natural and vital
energy, forming the building blocks of life. YIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS
UNTITLED 2016 INK ON PLEXIGLASS 50X50 CM MYLONA GALLERY EXHIBITION
www.mylonagallery.com
[email protected]
WANGA PRATSCHKE
TRAUM 2014/2015 BRONZE 78x78x60 CM
In the same space, the renowned artist Wanda Pratschke
presents the human form in all its complexity, beauty
and vitality with a series of bold yet personal bronze
sculptures probing manifestations of volume, texture
and nuances of colour. Her work is “concentrated on
the human body as a volume in space, with depth and
dedication, not glorified as a monument but seizing
and capturing the many facets of physicality”.* Her
mission is not to present pre-conceptions of idealized
human appearances, but to explore varied forms that
represent the diversity of being, speaking to us of a
humanity that cannot be characterized by a mere
biological constituents, rather transcending the
multitudinous elements to create a harmonic vision of
the whole form.
The exhibition recollects the rich culture of Basel as a global centre of life sciences
and of the human element of the inhabitants. The theme reinforces the memory of the city’s
history as the birthplace of the European dye works industry. Chemical plants established
in the 19th century a few meters from the Rhy Park on the banks of the Rhine to produce
brilliant colours quickly evolved into the pharmaceutical industry when it was discovered
that medicines could be produced from the same compounds used to produce dyes. Thus, the
modern pharmaceutical industry was born out of a fortuitous intermingling between
aesthetics, biology and chemistry. The exhibit’s theme reminds us of the biologist and the
artist probing with the same elements in order to explore the mechanisms of human
existence and impart physical and intellectual well-being on the body and mind.
*Professor Dr. Felix Semmelroth, Cultural Researcher and Director of Cultural Affairs of the City of Frankfurt am
Main.
RHY ART FAIR BASEL 2016
JUNE 16 VERNISSAGE
JUNE 17-18
JUNE 19
18:00 - 22:00
11:00 - 20:00
11:00 - 18:00
Mülhauserstrasse 17, 4056 Basel
Copyright and Courtesy Credits: the artists and MYLONA GALLERY
MYLONA GALLERY EXHIBITION
www.mylonagallery.com
[email protected]