Bernier/Eliades Gallery is pleased to host the exhibition “Two beginnings. Parallel journeys.” of
Maria Grigoriou and Yiannis Papadopoulos in Athens. The two Greek artists use different primary
materials such as linen, cotton, and silk and utilize traditional techniques such as weaving with
vegetable dyes and paper manufacture, while creating sculptural landscapes.

Maria Grigoriou’s works are a daily record of the same journey that the artist followed for two years.
In a slow-making and hands-on process, she worked in present time to reflect the almost
monochromatic yet ever-changing seascape. Her works carry the blue marks of time and sea, rust,
soaked in salty water, and the beauty of the ephemeral and imperfection. Yiannis Papadopoulos on
the other hand, engages in a journey of reconsideration, revaluation, and rejection of the
superfluous. He unravels the tangle of time and rediscovers the very beginning. With repetitive
movements, reminiscent of a meditative practice, and a simple linen string, he weaves his thoughts
transparently. The flat surface folds, embraces space, and multiplies with light and shadow, negative
and positive.

Maria Grigoriou and Yiannis Papadopoulos have shared the same art studio in Athens since 1978
and follow parallel paths. They studied at the Vakalo School of Art and the West Surrey College of
Art and are founding members of the AFI group. They have both given seminars and lectures in
various parts of the world, as well as numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at the Benaki
Museum in Athens, the Foundation for Hellenic Culture in Berlin, and the Grand Curtius Museum in
Liège. Maria Grigoriou has also participated in the Michelangelo Foundation’s second Biennale in
Venice and in group exhibitions at the Musée de Dentelles in Retournac, France, the Gennadius
Library in Athens, and the R.I.B.A. in London. Her works are included in the Michelangelo
Foundation’s Homo Faber Guide of European Master Craftsmen of Excellence. Yiannis
Papadopoulos’ activities include group exhibitions at the Damme Town Hall in Belgium, the
Lalaounis Museum in Athens, the Musée du Papier in Switzerland, the Museum of History of the
University of Athens, and the Palais des Papes in France, among others.

Opening: Thursday, 3 October 2024, 19:00 – 21:00.

Exhibition duration until 5 November 2024

Photo by  Vaggelis Zavos