ARTWORKS
Delta collaborates with ARTWORKS for the third consecutive year and presents works of Greek artists in the restaurant’s venue. The restaurant embraces art and organically integrates yearly rotating artworks in its interior and its surrounding spaces.
Following the concept of sustainability, we are invited to think of art as part of diverse ecosystems and interdependent interactions. The artists presenting their work at Delta Restaurant are awardees of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Artist Fellowship Program by ARTWORKS.
Malvina Panagiotidi, Answers Without Questions, 2019
Malvina Panagiotidi (ARTWORKS Fellow) explores themes of transformation and uncertainty in Answers Without Questions, a sculptural work composed of twenty fragmented body parts that assemble into a complete form. Inspired by the epic Pharsalia by Lucan, the piece draws from the tale of the witch Erichtho, who practices necromancy by using dismembered bodies from the battlefield to summon an oracle and foresee the future.
In a reverse ritual, Panagiotidi sculpts each body part in wax, casting them from her own body. These fragments are then electroformed with copper, with the wax burned away to leave only the copper forms. The resulting assemblage resists resolution: it does not provide answers about the future but instead poses questions, challenging our desire for certainty and control in the face of the unknown.
Chrysanthi Koumianaki, Blue Dots, 2018
Chrysanthi Koumianaki’s artistic practice delves into the impact of signage and signs, drawing inspiration from the diverse “tools” integrated into the urban fabric to optimize behavior within bustling urban environments. Athens, a city brimming with seemingly unremarkable metal bars lining its streets—some bearing the marks of vandalism, while others remain steadfastly functional—becomes a canvas for shaping our physical experiences and proposing a fluid, timeless vocabulary.
In the work Blue Dots, the signs establish conventions that effortlessly bridge the realms of private and public spaces, merging different elements together.
Reminiscent of the digital realm, the presence of a blue dot serves as a visual cue frequently employed in user interfaces and maps, effectively drawing attention to specific locations or points of interest.
Moreover, the soothing associations of blue with calmness and tranquility infuse the artwork with a serene ambiance, not always expected in the public space. The sculptures themselves can be interpreted as a form of contorted signs, further adding to the multifaceted nature of the piece.
Through the utilization of geometric shapes, Koumianaki presents a captivating fictional symbolic system, giving rise to a shared vocabulary that transcends the conventional language.
Courtesy of the artist
SNF ARTWORKS Fellow 2018
Manolis D. Lemos, Untitled (Mesh),
Untitled (Mesh) by Manolis D. Lemos (ARTWORKS Fellow) exists at the intersection of art and algorithm, capturing the delicate vibrations of creativity in an era shaped by artificial intelligence. The work delves into the evolving relationship between humans and technology, examining how AI reshapes and redefines artistic expression. Since 2018, Lemos has developed AI tools for artistic creation in collaboration with Konstantinos Daskalakis and MIT, pushing beyond traditional digital applications. These tools serve as an emotional extension of the artist, translating sketches and texts into images that pulse with a spectral, dreamlike quality. The piece’s monochromatic surface, etched with lines that evoke hurried sketches, erasures, and fragmented movements, forms a visual narrative of impermanence and transformation. This tension between spontaneity and machine precision creates a dialogue between the organic and the digital. The dense sensory layers of the images are born from collaborations that could not have been realized through conventional methods. Untitled (Mesh) explores the space where emotional expression and technological intervention intersect, embracing the unsettling allure of surrendering control. It invites the viewer to reflect on the blurred boundaries between human intention and digital translation, where creation becomes an ongoing negotiation of power and release. In this space, art does not simply adapt to technology—it is refracted through it, revealing something both familiar and provocatively otherworldly.
Oil, wax, marble dust on transparently primed linen, aluminum stretchers, 209x151cm
Courtesy of the artist and Can Gallery
Stefania Strouza, Petrified Currents, Liquified Currencies, 2017
Petrified Currents, Liquified Currencies by Stefania Strouza (ARTWORKS Fellow) explores the conceptual correlations between currents and currencies, focusing on how they shape the relationships between places and populations, while also examining the boundaries they dissolve between cultural narratives and economic activities. The work challenges traditional borders, questioning how economic systems and cultural narratives interact and blur the lines that divide them. The wall-based composition forms an abstract topography, weaving together vectors, currencies, and geological shapes, putting forward conditions of connection as well as moments of isolation. The semicircular marble forms introduce the dual concepts of circulation and restriction, symbolizing the fluidity of exchange while also referencing the forces that divide and enclose.The aluminum reliefs, inspired by ancient coinage, further develop this exploration by addressing the evolving concept of value through time. From the pre-industrial Kula Ring system, where the exchange of seashells among Pacific island communities was based on symbolic value, to the contemporary digital systems of value exchange, where data flows seamlessly across the Internet, the work reflects the transitions of value in response to social, technological, and cultural developments.
Marble, aluminum 90 x 120 cm Courtesy of the artist and a.antonopoulou.artPetros Moris, Commons (1, 2 & 3), 2013
Commons (2013) by Petros Moris (ΑRTWORKS Fellow) is a series of ceramic-tile mosaic compositions derived from public domain vector graphics. These freely accessible digital images represent a distributed ethos of contemporary production and a special kind of digital cultural heritage. The work initiates a dialogue on the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and digital material. The mosaics, inherently fragmented, reflect the very nature of the medium, where individual pieces come together to form a unified whole. This fragmentation leaves the works suggesting they are in an ongoing state of becoming. Positioned between representation and abstraction, the pieces reference the archaeological fragment and the excavation pit, where artifacts are unearthed and reassembled, while also evoking the idea of something constantly in transition. Moris underscores the idea of shared resources, emphasizing the interplay between the enduring quality of ceramic tiles and the transient characteristics of digital presence. Through Commons, Moris invites contemplation on our engagement with digital culture, memory, and the processes of creation and transformation.
