EMI AVORA
BIO
Emi Avora (1979) is a Greek born, London trained and Singapore based artist. She has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad. Solo projects include the National Theatre of Greece Athens, South Square Arts Centre, The Apartment Gallery, Athens, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York and Gallery Truebenbach, Cologne. She has participated in a number of group shows including Studio Voltaire, London, The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, The Whitechapel Gallery, London and the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki. Her work can be found in private as well as public collections in Europe and the USA, including The Wonderful Fund collection and March collection. She has also been an Elizabeth Greenshields recipient and her work has been in various publications including the New York Times, Future Now, Aesthetica Magazine and Defining the Contemporary, The Whitechapel in Association with Sotheby’s.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Drawing subject matter from sketches and images from public and personal spaces with a focus on the interior and still life, my works are entering a dialog with painting’s modernist historical canons as well as ponder on our ambiguous relationship to colonial narratives, exoticism, and taste. Sometimes dreamy, sometimes intense and with the use of light on the driving seat, the work allows space for invention, creating a gap between looking and making, between the real and the imaginary. Everyday observations become exaggerated through the use of color and change of scale, focusing on what surprises me or grasps my attention. Stemming from reality, observed elements are weaved into fictional compositions that allow a multitude of readings. Equally, the very process of mark making opens up a platform to investigate painting’s power to transcend imagery by breaking it down to the basics of color, shape, pattern, and composition.
ARTIST CV
2002 | MA Fine Art, Royal Academy Schools, London, UK
1999 | BA (Hons) Fine Art, Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, UK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 | Feasting with shadows, Nouri, Singapore, curated by Seet Yun Teng and Clara Che Wei Peh
2021 | My life in a Tropical Garden, Fullerton, Singapore, organised by Intersections Gallery
2021 |The Dream I’ve been seeking, ParkRoyal on Beach Road, Singapore, organised by Sutton Consulting
2020 | All Alone Together, SidexSide contemporary, online exhibition curated on sidexsidecontemporary.com
2013 | Grand Finale, Common View, National Theatre of Greece, Athens, Greece
2011 | The Lonely Palace, Corfu Municipal Gallery, Corfu, Greece
2011 | The Splendid Years, The Apartment, Athens
2010 | Dictionary of Ornaments, South Square Arts Centre, Bradford, UK
2009 | The Tiger in the Theater (From Baroque to Superama), The Apartment, Athens
Story Weaver, Galerie Trubenbach, Cologne, Germany
2007 | Against Nature (with Julia Kunin), Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, NY
2006 | In the Ruins, Contemporary Art Projects, London, UK
2006 | On the Verge, Amy Jo Spitalier, London, UK
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 | Diaspora, curated by Terry Lee, Art Seasons Gallery, Y Art Project, Singapore
2023 | Water Impression: Kanji Alignment- Above the Cloud, curated by Ola’art, American Club, Singapore
2023 | The Lake between Us, JW Projects, curate by Jingwei Wang, Singapore
2023 | Emerging Artists 2023, Dodomu Gallery, NY, online exhibition
2022 | Franzipani Aura, curated by Olal’ art and Marina Oechsner De Coninck, 63 Spottiswoode, Singapore
2022 | Remedy, Curated by Cream Athens, TAF foundation, Athens
2022 | True Believers, The Apartment in Crux part 2, curated by Vassilios Doupas, Crux gallery, Athens
2022 | Exh 09, Floorr Magazine online exhibition
2022 | A matter of Scale and Perspective, curated by John Tung, Agas Singapore online exhibitions
2022 | Fauna Allegoria, curated by Olal’ art and Marina Oechsner De Coninck, 63 Spottiswoode, Singapore
2021 | INFLUENCERS, curated by Marina Oechsner De Coninck, Alliance Francaise Singapur
2021 | An Artistmarket-The show, Art Outreach, Singapore
2021 | Polychromatic Dreamscapes, American Club, Singapore, curated by Ferzin Patel
2020 | Creatures, Beasts, Myths, online exhibit curated by the Vacant Museum, www.vacantmuseum.com
2020 | Delphian Open Call 2020, Delphian gallery, London
2019 | Be.Long.ing, online exhibition curated by ilikeyourworkpodcast.com
2017 | National Bank of Greece, Recent Acquisitions, NBG, Athens, Greece (upcoming)
2016 | Culturelines sans Frontières, curated by Vassiliki Tzanakou, metamatic:taf, Athens, Greece
2015 | ChemCraft, curated by CM projects, London, UK
2015 | Dis/placed, curated by Counterpoint Arts, Shoreditch Town Hall, London, UK (upcoming)
2014 | Death and Dying, curated by David Lillington, MAG3, Vienna, Austria
2014 | Out of our Heads, curated by James Putnam and Vassiliki Tzanakou, Shoreditch Town Hall, London, UK
2012 | SV12, Studio Voltaire, curated by Mike Nelson and Jenny Lomax London, UK
2012 | Vis Loci, The Griffin Gallery, curated by Liane Lang and George Major, London, UK
2012 | Journeys through the light, Hungate Contemporary, Norwich, UK
2011 | Mir (The World of Faberge), Royal Academy, London, UK
2009 | Paint-id, curated by Sotirios Bahtsetzis, Macedonian Museum of Art, Thessaloniki;
toured to Alex Mylonas Museum, Athens, Greece (cat.)
2009 | Summer Show, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain
2008 | In Present Tense, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece (cat.)
2007 | Decadence, Decay and the Demimonde, curated by Ben Austin, Home House, London, UK (cat.)
2007 | Salon Connexions, Contemporary Art Projects, London, UK
2006 | Defining the Contemporary, The Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (cat.)
2005 | Art Futures, Bloomberg Space, London, UK (cat.)
2005 | The Wonderful Fund Collection, Le Musée de Marrakech, Morocco;
2005 | The Wonderful Fund Collection, Palant House Gallery, London, UK (cat.)
2005 | London Now: Are You in Love Yet, St. Petersburg Arts Center, Florida, USA
2005 | Acid Drops and Sugar Candy, Transition Gallery, London, UK
2005 | Introductions, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, USA
2004 | Short Stories About Glamour, Hiscox Art Projects, London, UK (cat.)
2004 | Summer Pursuits, STORE Gallery, London, UK
2004 | East End Academy, The Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
2004 | Art Futures, Contemporary Art Society, London, UK
2004 | Faith, Transition Gallery, London, UK; CAS, Osaka, Japan
2004 | Draft, Nairs Culture Centre, Scuol, Switzerland
2004 | Then 6… Developments, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton, UK
2003 | Oriel Mostyn Open, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Wales (cat.)
2003 | The Last Day I spent on Earth, Glasgow Project Room, Scotland
2003 | Put Out More Flags, curated by Christabel Stewart, Sutton Lane, London, UK
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2015 | Art in a Bookshell, curated by Emi Avora, Milton Gallery, London, UK
2013 | Believing (in) objects, curated by Emi Avora and Sabina Mueller, House Projects, London, UK
2013 | Make me a door right here, curated by Emi Avora and Veronika Rettich, House project 1, London, UK
2012 | Hello and Goodbye, curated by Emi Avora and Hannah Hewetson, Cremer st studios, London, UK
2008 | Wonder island, curated by Emi Avora and Patrick Michalopoulos, Swartz Gallery, London, UK
COLLECTIONS
National Bank of Greece, Greece
Ernst & Young Collection, UK
Marsh Collection, UK
The Wonderful Fund Collection, UK
Hiscox Collection, UK
The Slade Collection, UK
PUBLICATIONS
NBG Recent Aquisitions, 2017 (upcoming)
Future Now, 100 Contemporary Artists from the Aesthetica Art Prize, 2015
Shortlisted for 100 Painters of Tomorrow, Thames and Hudson
Paint-id, Macedonian Museum of Art, 2009. Exhibition Catalogue
In Present Tense, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, 2008. Exhibition Catalogue
Decadence, Decay and the Demimonde, London, 2007. Exhibition Catalogue
Defining The Contemporary: The Whitechapel Gallery in association with Sotheby’s 2006.
Celeste Art Prize 2006. Exhibition Catalogue
Draft Book: Nairs Foundation, 2006. Exhibition Catalogue
Art’s Modern London Bridges, London 2005. Exhibition Catalogue
The Wonderful Fund Collection Catalogue, London, 2005. Publication
Short stories About Glamour, London, 2004. Exhibition Catalogue
Tower Place Collection Catalogue: A Selection of Art at Tower Place, London, 2003. Exhibition Catalogue.
Mostyn Open 2003, Oriel Mostyn, Wales 2003. Exhibition Catalogue
Initinere, Italy, 2003. Exhibition Catalogue
Arty Magazine, London, 2003. Artist Book
DLA Art Award Catalogue, London, 2002. Exhibition Catalogue
6 Rooms, Kappatos Gallery, Athens, 2002. Exhibition Catalogue
ARTWORK
