Greece

HYDRA WORKSHOP 2002

The tourists stroll along the busy quay of Hydra harbour looking at sarongs from India and plastic windmills. Just before they reach the souvlaki stand they stop at what seems just another shop front. They hover at the doorway, not certain of what they are seeing. A blonde woman with impossible dimensions and her head screwed on the wrong way. Her pneumatic breasts bounce around in a pink t-shirt as she strikes a comical pose like the beach babes on holiday postcards of the 1960’s.  Her name is "Twisting Girl" and she is a painting by John Currin. The tourists stumble back into the sunlight and plod on, they have no time for art.
 

"Twisting Girl", John Currin, 1997

This happens every year when the gallery Hydra Workshop owned by London collector Pauline Karpidas, puts on a show. Her collection is named after the constellation ‘Ophiuchus’ and past shows include works by Gillian Wearing, Christopher Wool, Tracey Emin among other big names.  The fact that few tourists bother to walk in does not worry the gallery. They know that Hydra attracts the world’s aficionados of contemporary art from Arte Povera instigator Giannis Kounellis to the Milanese editors of  Flash Art, perhaps the most influential art magazine around. At this time of the year, you can spot American artists Brice and Helen Marden and New York dealer Mathew Marks sipping sodas on the port. Artist Maurizio Cattelan just left, a guest of collector Dakis Ioannou who owns a yellow house on the port. At the local primary school on the hill there is another exhibition showing works by artists such as Tracey Emin and Andres Serrano. If you choose to ignore the day-trippers, this tiny island in the Aegean is deeply, deeply, cool.
Along with eight works by John Currin, the Hydra Workshop is showing four pieces by his wife Rachel Feinstein. Intriguing mixed media sculptures in white, gold and pink that share something of Currin’s fascination with classical art.
It is the first time the two have exhibited together. The exhibition is curated by Sadie Coles, well known London dealer.
 
 

Rachel Feinstein, Waterfall, wood, plaster,  wire, nylon fabric, foam , resin, gold leaf, enamel paint	John Currin's trendy bag lady, a drawing in sepia ink imitates an old master drawing in the style of 18th Century Venetian characitures

Previous Year Workshop Exhibition

Read also : A giant step for civilization !... Cranach/John Currin

©Electronic Publishing Corp.

Houses to buy Best Hotels Houses to Rent Island Guide Contact Search this site Home Page ©Electronic Publishing Corp.

hydra island,island of hydra,houses to rent in hydra,villas to rent in hydra,summer rental in greece,greek holyday home,greeks house rental,island properties,island to rent,island in greece,apartment to rent greece,greek villa rental,house in greece,house on a greek island,saronic,greek hotels,greek villas,greek holidays,vacation rental,vacation properties,home exchange,home rental,homexhange,digsville,vacation properties,hydra island site,hydra island information,where can i rent a house in greece,where can i buy a house in greece,greek sex,greek girls,greek art,greek olympic games,greek travel agents,