joannis avramidis - Kunsthaus Lempertz

JOAN N IS AVRAM I DIS
Exhibition
Joannis Avramidis
Berlin
29 January to 24 February 2016
Monday – Friday 10.00 am – 3.00 pm
and by appointment
Brussels
4 March to 2 April 2016
(during TEFAF, 11 – 20 March)
Monday – Friday 9.30 am – 5.30 pm
Saturday 11.00 am – 5.00 pm
Lempertz Berlin
Poststraße 22
10178 Berlin – Nikolaiviertel
T +49.30.278760-80
[email protected]
Lempertz 1798 NV/SA
Grote Hertstraat 6
rue du Grand Cerf
Brussel 1000 Bruxelles
T +32.2.5140586
[email protected]
Joannis Avramidis has been among the leading names in contemporary sculpture at least
since his participation in the Venice Biennale of 1962. His work is characterised by its
sublime form of beauty which focuses on the search for the ideal figure. His main sources
of inspiration lie in Classical Antiquity and the early Italian Renaissance. These were two
eras in which, as in the works of Avramidis, the proportions of the human form defined the
artistic ideal. Alongside the human figure, natural forms also provide an important source
of motifs in the artist’s works, as exemplified by his many columnar sculptures based on trees.
Avramidis’ longstanding relationship with Lempertz was already shown in an
exhibition of drawings by the artist held in our Cologne headquarters in 1984. This year’s
exhibition pays homage to the artist with an extensive overview of his sculptural output which
includes works from varying phases of his career and showcases both the continuity and the
innovation within his oeuvre. Avramidis is represented in numerous top international museums
and his sculptures are a well-known feature of public art, one example of which can be found
in front of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
It is a great honour for our house to host an exhibition in close cooperation with
Joannis Avramidis. As well as the artist himself, we would also like to thank his daughter
Julia Frank-Avramidis for her generous support and for accompanying and inspiring our project
with her exceptional dedication.
The exhibition will first be shown at Lempertz in Berlin, and then in a larger form at our
Brussels branch.
Imprint
Kunsthaus Lempertz KG
Poststraße 22
10178 Berlin
Photography: Benedikt Croy, Vienna
Design: KA.E Kommunikationsdesign, Cologne
Translation: Dawn Gibbs
Printers: Kopp Cologne
2
KLEI N E FIGU R I I, 1963. BRONZE, 40 CM. EDITION OF 6
3
KOPF, 1984. BRONZE, DKL, 30 CM. EDITION OF 6
4
BÜSTE, 1980. BRONZE, 104.5 CM. EDITION OF 4
5
6
7
SITZEN DE BAN DFIGU R, 1970/82. SOLI D ALU M I N I U M, 66 CM. EDITION OF 50
8
R HOM BUS-KOPF, 1967. SOLI D STEEL, COLD WOR KED, 32 CM. EDITION OF 7
9
RU N DFIGU R (OBER KÖR PER), 1970. BRONZE, 119 CM. EDITION OF 4
10
GROSSER KOPF, 1970. BRONZE, 92.5 CM. EDITION OF 3
11
KOPF, 1980. BRONZE, 33 CM. EDITION OF 6
12
KOPF, 1996. BRONZE, 40 CM. EDITION OF 6
13
M ITTLER E ZWEI FIGU R ENGRU PPE, 1964
BRONZE, 163 CM. EDITION OF 3
H U MAN ITASSÄU LE (SMALL VERSION),
1963/86. BRONZE, 270 CM. EDITION OF 3
14
BAN DFIGU R I I, KANTIG, 1982
BRONZE, 207 CM. EDITION OF 3
BAN DFIGU R I, RU N D, 1982
BRONZE, 207 CM. EDITION OF 3
15
KOPF, 1984. ARTI FICIAL R ESI N ON ALU M I N I U M BASE, 30 CM
U N IQU E COPY
16
RECHTER HALBKOPF, 2003. ARTI FICIAL RESI N ON ALUM INIUM BASE, 42.8 CM
EDITION OF 6
17
HALBTORSO, 1962. BRONZE, 63 CM. EDITION OF 6
18
KOPF. DAS TROJAN ISCH E PFER D, 1970. BRONZE, 36 CM. EDITION OF 6
19
MODELL FÜ R EI N E SÄU LE
(DISCHARGED PROFI LES), 1953
BRONZE, 77 CM. EDITION OF 6
KLEI N E HALBFIGU R, 1954
BRONZE, 65 CM. EDITION OF 6
20
U NTERSCH EN KEL, 1957. BRONZE, 63 CM. EDITION OF 6
21
KLEI N E FÜ N FFIGU R ENGRU PPE, 1980. BRONZE, 40 CM. EDITION OF 6
22
KOPF I, 1966. BRONZE, 36 CM. EDITION OF 6
23
BAU M, 2001. BRONZE, 85 CM. EDITION OF 6
24
SCH R EITEN DER (ROU N D PROFI LE), 1966/99. BRONZE, 170 CM. EDITION OF 3
25
BÜSTE, 1962. BRONZE, 40 CM. EDITION OF 6
26
KOPF, 1972. BRONZE, 37.5 CM. EDITION OF 6
27
BAN DKOPF I I, 1981/82. SOLI D ALU M I N I U M, COLD WOR KED, 36.3 CM
EDITION OF 6
28
BAN DKOPF I, 1972/81. SOLI D ALU M I N I U M, COLD WOR KED, 40 CM
EDITION OF 6
29
2
1
1
SCHREITENDER (HALF PROFILE), 1966/99
BRONZE, 170 CM. EDITION OF 3
2
GROSSE DR EI FIGU R ENGRU PPE, 1961
BRONZE, 225 CM. EDITION OF 3
3
3
KOPF I I, 1994
BRONZE, 157 CM. EDITION OF 3
30
FIGU R I I (WITH FLOWI NG PROFI LES), 1963. BRONZE, 200 CM
EDITION OF 3
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BIOGRAPHY (SELECTION)
1922
born to Greek parents in Russian Batum on the Black Sea
1937
death of his father in prison as a victim of Stalin’s ethnic cleansing
began his studies at the state art school in Batum
1937–1939
studied at the state art school in Batum
1939
abandoned his studies upon the family’s migration to Athens
1943
forcibly employed as a so-called foreign worker (Fremdarbeiter) in Vienna
1945–1949
studied painting at the Fine Arts Academy in Vienna under Robin Christian Andersen
1953–1956
studied sculpture under Fritz Wotruba
1956
awarded state prize of the Fine Arts Academy of Vienna
1958
awarded Austrian state grant for sculpture
1961
awarded municipal grant of Vienna
awarded Hugo-von-Montfort prize, Begrenz
awarded prize of the Austrian industrial federation
1962
represented at the Austrian pavilion at the Venice Biennale
met Alberto Giacometti
1964
awarded Vienna municipal prize
1965–1966
led the life drawing class at the Fine Arts Academy of Vienna
1966–1968
professor at the Fine Arts Academy in Hamburg
1968
awarded the Berlin Will-Grohmann municipal prize
became member of the Vienna Secession
1968–1992
led the sculpture master class of the Fine Arts Academy in Vienna
1973
awarded prize at the Biennale for small-scale sculpture in Budapest
awarded great Austrian state prize
became member of the Austrian art senate
1997
donated large number of works to the National Gallery in Athens
1998
became corresponding member of the Athens Art Academy
2000
became corresponding member of the Bavarian Fine Arts Academy
2014
awarded Jerg-Ratgeb prize of Reutlingen
Joannis Avramidis currently lives and works in Vienna
KOPF, 1986. ARTI FICIAL R ESI N ON ALU M I N I U M BASE, 53.5 CM
EDITION OF 6
Kunsthaus Lempertz
Neumarkt 3 50667 Cologne T +49 .221.925729-0
Berlin T +49 .30.278760-80
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