Private View: 12th April - 18.00 - 21.00
Exhibition Runs: 13th April - 28th April 2012
Print Release: 21st April 12pm
Artist Talk: 21st April 3pm
50 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP London
RSVP: lila.benini@gallerynosco.com by the 10th April to be included on the guestlist
What is it that thou wouldst have in a silver charger, O sweet and fair Salomé, thou that art
fairer than all the daughters of Judaea? What wouldst thou have them bring thee in a silver
charger? Tell me. Whatsoever it may be, thou shalt receive it. My treasures belong to thee.
What is it that thou wouldst have, Salomé? (1)
Salome. The voluptuous young princess who performed the seductive dance of the seven
veils inflaming King Herod to the point that he would bring John Baptiste’s head in a silver
charger.
Judith. The beautiful widow who allured the enemy general Holofernes and managed to
decapitate him to save her city of Bethulia from the Assyrians. Delilah. The woman who
became the object of Samson’s desire and was able to deceive him by making him unveil
his deepest secret concerning his immanent great strength.
Ferocious attractive women that cunningly exploit men are drawn out from the cosmos of
Jeudo, Christian and ancient Greek mythology and become the central subject matter in
Alexandros Vasmoulakis’ new work. Moving from his previous depiction of vigorous and
dynamic reclining nudes that sarcastically gaze at the male viewer, the artist once again
unleashes the forces that control the conflicting relationship between men and women and
enhances the infamous personality of a femme fatale.
Through a colorful mixture of oil, ink and acrylic, Vasmoulakis’ female protagonists are
rendered as supernatural creatures. Deities that deviate from images of mere objectification.
The artist’s rough brush strokes and abrupt lines intensify their Dionysiac nature, which is
playful and humorous, as well as liberating. According to Vasmoulakis, the patterns of a
patriarchal society throughout history have been established due to men’s lustful desire and
simultaneous fear of women. An issue that reverberates to the mythical association of Eros
and Thanatos with the disquieting charm of female beauty.
However, the artist distorts their features, suggesting their physical attractiveness without
representing it. He portrays the castrated man, who, disarmed and powerless, witnessed
Death and Desire, confessing that this revelation “felt like a kiss”. Once more Vasmoulakis
figures become strange amalgams of the past and present that can never be captured and
solidified, but somehow perfectly trigger a stream of consciousness of the eternal game
between the two sexes.
Elli Paxinou
1) Herode, from Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act by Oscar Wilde
For Press and Images inquiries, please contact
LILA BENINI
email: ila.benini@gallerynosco.com tel: +44(0) 75 9564 0034
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