PCAI is pleased to share news of the first major retrospective exhibition of PCAI Collection artist Leda Papaconstantinou (b. 1945). at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMΣT), opening to the public on December 14, 2023. Papaconstantinou, one of the most important artists in the history of contemporary Greek art, and a pioneer of feminist art in Greece, has developed a diverse body of work centered on the body for nearly five decades. Her art took on various forms, including performance, sculpture, video, site-specific installations, and painting to explore issues of gender, sexuality, collective and personal memory, history, politics and ecology. A seminal figure on the Greek art scene, her work has served as an inspiration for generations of artists. The exhibition is curated by Tina Pandi and is part of EMΣT’s exhibition series, “What if Women Ruled the World?”, a seven-month long programme dedicated exclusively to the work of female artists or artists who identify as female.
In 2022, PCAI and Kika Kyriakakou, on the occasion of the Sheltered Gardens exhibition, commissioned Leda Papaconstantinou the work Do Not Walk Alone Into This Lonely Night. The two-channel video, partially echoing Dylan Thomas’ 1947 poem, is the artist’s observation of a garden close to hers; a quest on gardens that manifests into a rebellious libretto, a lyrical attempt to preserve the song of earth. In the framework of the exhibition, Papaconstantinou presented the reading performance a Family Portrait.
Leda Papaconstantinou, born in 1945 in Ambelonas, Larissa, Greece, studied Graphic Design at the Athens Technological Institute Doxiades, Fine Arts at the Loughton College of Art (London) and Maidstone College of Art (Kent Institute of Art and Design, University of Kent). She lives and works on the island of Spetses, Greece. Papaconstantinou is one of the primary and few artists in Greece who has used performance as an expressive medium during the ’70s and ’80s and her presence has been constant and continuous since the late 60’s. Her work, apart from performances, consists of installations, paintings, sculptures, video and film. Since 1969, her work has been presented in numerous group and solo shows worldwide.
Image credits: Leda Papaconstantinou. Performance view, The Box, Gallery 3, Athens, 1981. Performers: Leda Papaconstantinou, Lesley Walton (alias Sally Smith), detail. Photo: Erricos Karer.
