EMI AVORA

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

2015  | Hellenic Cruise, New Court Gallery, Repton School, UK

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

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