I’m pleased to announced that my work will be featured amongst a fantastic lineup of female Australian contemporary artists in the upcoming group exhibition 'KALOSKAGATHOS' curated by Diana Palmer at Post Space Exeter, and I must say, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with her.
Post Space, Exeter presents ‘Kaloskagathos’, an exhibition bringing together works by contemporary Australian artists who explore, embrace or challenge the classical artistic tradition. Drawing inspiration from renowned works of literature, history, mythology and cultural traditions to explore the themes of feminism, motherhood, domesticity and the goddess, these artists works, in varying ways, embody the power and majesty of female sexuality whilst subverting the classical idea that promoted the supremacy of the male form.
Featuring Jedda-Daisy Cullen, Louisa Chircop, Belynda Henry, Solomon Kammer, Sophy Reynolds, Mirra Whale and Hayley West and spanning different materials and formats - painting, sculpture, installation, photography and drawing - these artists come together looking at the relics of the enduring preoccupation of greek art with the human form as well as contemporary art’s ongoing relationship with the classical past.
The term ‘Kaloskagathos’, combines two adjectives, with kalos designating outward, and agathos — inward perfection. It is an abstract concept, unreal in its varied ideals and yet a word that correlates to a system of values that represents the development of any human society, a social, ethical and aesthetic assesment criteria. In the Symposium, Plato explicitly warns against becoming fixated on the beauty of the body. Instead, he argues that the energy released by the sight of the gorgeous figure needs to be channeled to a desire for a deeper beauty – that of the soul, of the good, of the divine.
Through a series of pairings and juxtapositions, alternatively dramatic and understated, the exhibition ‘Kaloskagathos’, aims to provoke conversations between the classical traditions of femininity, beauty and power; as history provides us a record, and from it one basic, inescapable, and ultimately unconscionable truth stands out: the ideals women are asked to embody, regardless of culture or continent, have been hammered out almost exclusively by men.
essay excerpt
Diana Palmer, 2024
Please join us on us Saturday 10 February 2024 2-5pm at Post Space Exeter for the opening of KALOSKAGATHOS a group show including
View exhibition catalogue and essay here
Please contact (link) Diana Palmer Exhibition and Acquisition Consultant for artwork for enquiries
Please note Solomon Kammer's inclusion in this exhibition is courtesy of her incredible representative gallery Yavuz Gallery, Surry Hills @yavuzgallery @maxhomaei
All celebratory drinks courtesy of @merrigangs_ and @stmaurwines
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Exhibition invite