Kalfayan Galleries (11 Haritos Street, Kolonaki, Athens) present a solo exhibition of Dimitris Tataris, titled “A Day in Hell”.

With their characteristic precision and attention to detail, the works of Dimitris Tataris resemble complex mosaic images that draw their inspiration from Renaissance iconography, the Baroque, pop culture, the media, archival material and literary sources. In his solo show, which reveals the multi-faceted character of his artistic idiom and the dynamic assimilation and expansion of a variety of media, Dimitris Tataris presents complex and technically perfect works, bizarre collages overlaid on old engravings, as well as a sculpture which will be completed when … the portrait of the buyer is added to it!

Through multiple narrative strands, the exhibition is structured as a palimpsest, a cryptic allegory of the human condition in the present day. Driven by the idea of subversion, an intense cynicism pointed at himself and well-aimed caustic humor, Tataris begins, like Dante, a voyage to hell, as in his ingenious interventions with tempera and collage on a series of 19th century engravings by Gustave Doré. Particular emphasis is given to episodes that refer to conscious sins. In a series of works, whose complexity and attention to detail is overwhelming, the observer enters the surrealistic universe of the artist: “The Disrobing of Christ” by El Greco encounters the classification of the seven deadly sins – a subject that was particularly popular during the Renaissance – which is presented in the form of contemporary political figures but also controversial personalities, and the banknotes that mirror the trials of the system of exchange, through the subversive viewpoint of the artist. Allegory in relationship with the present day completes the series of works titled “Erotica” in which, with lighthearted sarcasm, Tataris embellishes engravings of the 16th century Flemish anatomist Andreas Vesalius, with clever suggestive motifs.

Dimitris Tataris (b. 1975, Crete, Greece) lives and works in Athens, Greece. He graduated from the Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece. In 2002, he received a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation in order to continue his studies in the Middlesex University in London, where he graduated with an honors degree. Recent solo shows include: “A Day in Hell”, Kalfayan Galleries, Athens, Greece (2014); “In God We Trust”, Aristotelous Project, Kalfayan Galleries, Thessaloniki, Greece (2013); “Loplop” (2011) and “Fragile” (2008), K-Art Gallery, Athens, Greece. Recent group shows include: “Painting, Today”, Vogiatzoglou Art Gallery, Athens, Greece (2014); “Blue”, Kalfayan Galleries, Athens, Greece; “Waiting for the barbarians: Report to Cavafy”, Kalfayan Galleries, Athens, Greece (all 2013); “Re-culture”, International Visual Art Exhibition and Educational Workshops, Agora Argiri, Patra, Greece; “Salus Patriae”, Kydoniefs Foundation, Andros island, Greece (all 2012); “Cartography of the unknown”, 50-1 Gallery, Cyprus; “I fought the X and the X won”, National Museum of Fine Arts, Malta and Museum of Arts, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; “WHITE BLACK”, Frissiras Museum, Athens, Greece (all 2011); “…Par Nature”, Galerie Bonneau - Samames, Marseille, France (2009). Dimitris Tataris is represented by Kalfayan Galleries, Athens – Thessaloniki.

Kalfayan Gallery

11 Haritos Street, Kolonaki
Athens 106 75 Greece
Ph. +30 (210) 7217679
info@kalfayangalleries.com
www.kalfayangalleries.com

Opening hours

Monday from 10am to 3pm
Tuesday - Friday from 10am to 8pm
Saturday from 11am to 3pm

Related images
  1. Dimitris Tataris, Untitled, 2014, collage and pencil on banknote, 10 x 21 cm, Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki
  2. Dimitris Tataris, A Day in Hell, 2014, collage and tempera on 19th century engraving, 25 x 33 cm, Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki
  3. Dimitris Tataris, Untitled, 2014, collage and tempera on original engraving, 14 x 19 cm, Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki
  4. Dimitris Tataris, Adam and Eve, Erotica series, 2014, Tempera On 16th Century Engraving, 40 x 29 cm, Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki
  5. Dimitris Tataris, A Day In Hell, 2014, Collage and Tempera On 19th Century Engraving, 33 x 25 cm, Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki
  6. Dimitris Tataris, Adam And Eve, Erotica Series 2014, Tempera On 16th Century Engraving, 40 X 29 cm, Courtesy Kalfayan Galleries, Athens - Thessaloniki