Christina Papaioannou is an Athens-based visual artist from Thessaloniki, Greece. She holds an Integrated Master’s degree from Athens School of Fine Arts. In 2019 she received the MATAROA Award for upcoming artists at 4th Art Thessaloniki International Contemporary Art Fair. Her work has been exhibited in Greece, Cyprus and London and is included in private collections.
Her debut solo exhibition titled "Let the Lion talk", took place at Sianti Gallery, Athens, curated by Thanassis Moutsopoulos.
Artist Statement
Information overload, chaotic structures, digital culture, incomplete narratives, history of art and memory, have been the stimuli that created the need to somehow manage this overwhelming material, with work, turning it into art.
Therefore, I explore the role of painting in the digital age by creating dynamic paintings of vibrant color that are built up through fragmentation, individual micro-stories as well as moments of sheer abstraction.
As an image collector, I begin the creation of my works with a two-way tour of both the virtual and physical worlds. The gathered images of various origins such as pixels, botanical motifs, animals, ancient Greek architecture, renaissance engravings, children’s drawings and scraps of my own works, serve as ready mades for the creation of hybrid compositions. The digital processing of the images, gives rise to new structures, which are then manually applied to the canvas. There is a reuse of pre-existing data that returns it back to material reality. From abstract landscapes to scenes reminiscent of video games, my paintings play with the boundaries between the familiar and the unexpected, while an underlying sense of whimsical mood lurks behind the brushstrokes. These playful scenarios are articulated in an unencrypted language that invites the viewer to interpret it from scratch, like a psychological test.
Thanasis Moutsopoulos
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Upcoming solo show at AG18 Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2022 “Let the Lion talk”, curated by Thanasis Moutsopoulos, Sianti Gallery, Athens
Group Exhibitions
2023 “Small Paintings 2023-2024”, Sianti Gallery
2023 “Art Athina”, Sianti Gallery
2023 “Panorama”, Galeria Fran Reus, Palma De Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain
2022 “Remedy”, organized by Cream Athens, TAF | The Art Foundation, Athens
2022 “Merry-Go-Round”, Is Not Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus
2022 “Small Paintings 2022 – 2023”, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2022 Platforms Project, participation with Dogma Athens, Athens
2022 “Summerish”, E Art Gallery, Paros Island
2022 “Art Your Pet”, curated by Manos Stefanidis, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2021 “Summer is back”, E Art Gallery, Paros island
2021 “Layers”, two-person exhibition, Marina Keas Gallery, Kea Island
2021 “Cycle-pursued…”, curated by Manos Stefanidis, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2021 “50 x 50 Less is More”, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2021 Platforms Project 2021, “Is the History of Art a history of violence?”, installation by Dipola Art Platform
2021 ROOMS2021, Kappatos Gallery, curated by Faye Tzanetoulakou, Athens
2020 “I shall be your Eve”, four person exhibition, The Blender Gallery, Athens
2020 Small paintings exhibition, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2020 “Tondo”, curated by Manos Stefanidis, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2020 “Perfect Eros”, curated by Manos Stefanidis, Municipal, Cultural Center of Alimos, Athens
2020 “L’art n’a pas de frontieres”, French Institute of Thessaloniki
2020 “Blue after dark”, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2020 “Perfect Eros”, curated by Manos Stefanidis, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2020 “Ballance in two dimensions”, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2020 “Today at GNA / # Hospital Art”, GNA 251, Athens
2020 “Lush Art in Austere Times”, Is Not Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus
2019 “Anorioton – Object of the Imagination”, two person exhibition, J/M Gallery, Notting Hill, London
2019 Group exhibition, presented by Varvara Roza Galleries, La Galleria Pal Mal, Mayfair, London
2019 4th Art Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Fair, MATAROA award receiver, solo booth presentation & participation with Sianti Gallery, Thessaloniki
2019 “Generations”, Contemporary Art Exhibition, DIPOLA Art Platform in collaboration with Lola Nikolaou Gallery, Municipal Art Gallery of Malevizi, Crete
2019 “Traces of a lifetime”, Contemporary Art Exhibition, House of Culture, Rethimno, Crete
2019 “CulturaHER2019”, Cultural Center of Heraklion, Crete
2019 “Affordable Art”, Lola Nikolaou Gallery, Thessaloniki
2019 “A beach in the city”, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2019 “Internal Body”, two person exhibition, Museum of Visual Arts of Heraklion, Crete
2019 “Lush Art in Austere Times”, Is Not Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus
2018 “Small Paintings”, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2018 “Art 19”, Technochoros Gallery, Ioannina
2018 “Serendipity” , Piraeus Conference Center, Thessaloniki
2016 Group exhibition, Spyral Art Gallery & Mykonos Blu Exclusive Resort, Mykonos
2015 “Dare to Dream”, Art Display Windows of ΟΤΕ organization, Thessaloniki
2015 Solo exhibition, SEPIA ART, Athens
2013 Group exhibition, SYN Gallery, Athens
2013 School of Fine Arts Students exhibition, Markopoulos Cultural Center, Athens
2013 School of Fine Arts Students exhibition, Vasilis Rotas Cultural Center, Athens
2013 School of Fine Arts Students exhibition, Costarakos Cultural Center, Athens
Art Fairs
2022 6th Art Thessaloniki International Contemporary Art Fair, Pantelis Tsatsis
2022 Art Athina, Sianti Gallery, Zappeion Mansion, Athens
2021 Art Athina Virtual, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2020 Art Athina Viewing Rooms, virtual exhibition, Sianti Gallery, Athens
2019 4th Art Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Fair, MATAROA award receiver, solo booth presentation & participation with Sianti Gallery
2018 3rd Art Thessaloniki International Contemporary Art Fair, Sianti Gallery
