Opy Zouni

THE EXHIBITION

The exhibition “Itineraries through light and colour” by Opy Zouni concluded the celebrations for the twentieth anniversary of the Museum of Cycladic Art. This was a presentation of the artist’s most recent ideas, with reference to earlier work of the last twenty-five years. The New Wing of
 the MCA became the venue for the presentation of a true “vision of 
today”. In this project, Zouni attempted to transform the environment of 
contemporary people as experienced in their work-space and in their 
imaginations. Her creations presented cityscapes coexisting with nature in
 dream-like compositions. Constructions with mirrors that converse with 
and enliven the surrounding space, and installations with parallel 
mirrors that create multiple reflections. The emphasis was on 
recent works as well as on creations that have not been presented in 
Athens before. Visitors to the exhibition could also watch the video A 
ramble in form, (duration: 6½ minutes), where the artist analysed her 
subjects by constructing and deconstructing the composition of her 
works.

Opy Zouni noted about the concept of the exhibition: “After 
the experience from constructions and works in black-and-white, the 
horizon opened up for the exhaustive study of colour. Geometry never 
became an obstacle; on the contrary, it was a constant challenge for the
 parallel development of the material as the gradual result of a 
gestural script. I decided for this exhibition to span a period of 
twenty-five years. This was meant not as a strict chronological limit 
but rather as an outline for a selection of samples; indeed, in some 
cases it was not observed. In the end, I gave greater emphasis to recent
 works.”

The exhibition was accompanied by a monograph by Dr. Yannis Bolis 
(Curator at the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki) where 
Zouni’s entire oeuvre from the 1960s to the present day is analysed 
chronologically and thematically. The book contains also brief 
testimonies by such eminent figures as Rector Eleni Ahrweiler, Charis 
Kambouridis (Art Critic-Semanticist), Charis Savvopoulos (Professor of 
Art History at the University of Thessaloniki), Dr. Eugenia Alexaki (Art-historian) and a swansong review by the late Pierre Restany, international Art Critic.