NEW YORK – The Consulate General of Greece in New York, 69 East 79th Street in Manhattan, presents the art exhibition Antonia Papatzanaki’s Microscopies, curated by Dr. Thalia Vrachopoulos, December 5-31. An Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, December 5, 6-7:30 PM on the Consulate’s premises.

According to Dr. Vrachopoulos, “Papatzanaki’s body of work presented in Microscopies is concerned with life, its microscopic forms, and science. In fact, this particular series because it is black and white, and depicts what appear to be cell units, can be seen in terms of vision and color perception theory as well as cellular biology. The Greek Consulate installation is comprised of two basic groups of works. The first is called Structural containing both oil on canvas and square light works, and the second is the vertical Vital Lace made of LED light, stainless steel, and Plexiglas.

“The Vital Lace 4 to 6 are worked much like lace into varying-size circular elements that appear to float. Reminiscent of organic cells melding, expanding and dividing, they are in places larger and in others smaller. The sides are framed by dark vertical lines of steel-like lead cames that are juxtaposed against the lighted circles seen through the Plexiglas to produce beautiful rhythms of rectilinear and curved patterns. Emitting all the colors in the spectrum, these light works can be made to change color depending on the artist’s preference.

“This series is sensory oriented without being physically bound because the artist breaks through the limitations of the visual idiom. Sensory input is translated into the perception of objects depending on environmental information present. But Papatzanaki’s high level of expectation and experience feed the perceptual process, which is not limited only to her direct visual arena.

“Furthermore, her work is multidisciplinary because she uses language, methodologies, philosophies, influences, and concepts from other specialties such as the medical and optical branches. In its multifaceted appearance, her series relates to science, art, and medicine, but its interpretation varies with each viewer.”

Papatzanaki was born in Chania, Crete, and is a renowned Greek artist who lives and works in New York. She is known for her light sculptures exploring the material properties, formal qualities, and conceptual intricacies of light and her constant interest in primary elements. She was educated in the Athens School of Fine Arts, the Vienna Hochschule fur Angewandte Kunst, and she acquired her Masters Degree of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in New York. Papatzanaki is the recipient of many prestigious awards including F.V.S. zu Hamburg Foundation, Hellenic State Scholarship Foundation, Gerondelis Foundation, Foundation for Hellenic Culture, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, and the Katonah Museum of Art in New York, in addition to winning Panhellenic and international competitions held to choose and fund artists for the creation of public art.

Her public light installation Agora was exhibited at Battery Park during 2000-2001 as part of the Temporary Public Art Program of New York City. Several of Papatzanaki’s outdoor public works are permanently installed throughout Greece, including her sculpture Lighthouse in the square of the Kato Patisia Metro Station, Athens. Papatzanaki has exhibited widely. Notable among her many solo exhibitions are Cellular, Herakleidon Museum, Athens, 2019; Photometries, Municipal Art Gallery of Chania, 2018; and Stratifications, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, 2016.

Exhibition Hours: Monday-Friday: 9 AM-2:30 PM.

Artwork by Antonia Papatzanaki. Photo: Courtesy of Antonia Papatzanaki