Interview by Zeta Tzioti
Cube Gallery, is an art gallery which is located in Patras Greece, and its concept is to present established artists, as well as upcoming, and contemporary art in all its manifestations, such as painting, sculpture, photography, installation art, video art, performances.
Cube Gallery has a schedule of solo and group exhibitions that change every month and as parallel actions of the gallery, are specific art projects and events hosted in the space.
2020 marks the tenth year since the gallery started its exhibition program prompting us, Artviews, to meet with the founder, art director, and curator of the Cube Gallery Liana Zoza, and discuss her experiences.
-New conditions in the field of art. How is the sector affected by the absence of social events, the social distancing, the avoidance of organizing events, etc.?
-Although in all art galleries and museums around the world, the opening of each new exhibition is the opportunity for nice and interesting discussions between people of art, the new conditions force us to adapt to situations of social distancing.
At first, I would say it was quite difficult, maybe awkward to realize, but then the adjustment and the transition was done by all of us in the best possible way. Although we definitely miss the “celebration” of each new beginning, I believe that these new conditions offered us the possibility of having constant traffic throughout the exhibitions and not only at the opening.
Against All Odds, was the first project to be presented at the Cube Gallery
-You are the owner of a gallery that operates in Patras. How do you see the local market reacting under these conditions?
-I would put it a little differently. Patras is the headquarters of the Cube Gallery, which, however, is not exclusively active in a local market. Having the majority of partners with international activity, from the beginning my vision was a multicultural collaboration since I had these influences from my studies in the field of art.
Of course, a local market always plays a role, but not the primary one. I would say that the art market reacts very positively against the adverse conditions that prevail.
Although we definitely miss the “celebration” of each new beginning, I believe that these new conditions offered us the possibility of having constant traffic throughout the exhibitions and not only at the opening
-Tell us about recent projects and art fairs you have participated in.
-Against All Odds, was the first project to be presented at the Cube Gallery, in the post-closure era, having the uniqueness of presenting works created by artists in the period of isolation, thus, giving the personal perspective of everyone in this unprecedented condition. This was followed in September by a photographic project, the Invisible Cities, which is now ongoing, and which is carried out in collaboration with Nikos Vatopoulos, Fanis Logothetis, and Xenophon Papaefthimiou.
In Art Athina 2020, which is virtual due to the circumstances, I am currently participating in the art project Read The Room. The curation of the project was done after a very nice, as always, collaboration with Μakis Κyriakopoulos, who is a visual artist and beloved friend. In addition, equally excellent artists from Greece and abroad do participate.
-Do you believe that artists can present their work through social media? Should Greek galleries target online sales?
-I personally believe that technology can make a significant contribution to the communication of art. I also think that it is very important that the projection through them is targeted so that it can be effective.
Greek galleries should definitely target online sales if they have not already done so. Having the experience as a Head Curator of the electronic art platform Face Art, which is based in London and has partners from many countries around the world, I would say that abroad is already a very common way of selling works of art, since the interested person can choose from the comfort of his home or office.
-You also host well-known foreign artists in your gallery. Will you continue these activities despite the difficulties?
-I am lucky to collaborate with very good artists, without being an obstacle in our collaboration the fact that they live and work abroad. It never crossed my mind to stop these collaborations, due to the objective difficulties, arising from the particular situation, to which we are called to adapt globally. The same goes for my collaborators abroad. We try to find the best solutions to keep doing interesting things.
-Art Athina 2020. The first digital Art Athina. What did you present and what did you think about it?
-At Art Athina 2020, Cube Gallery presents the art project Read The Room, through the viewing rooms of the art platform that hosts the first digital Art Athina. Along with my collaborator Μakis Κyriakopoulos, we co-curated the project, through which an attempt is made by artists to model the decisions we can make through a personalized experience, allowing us to create scenarios for reading space-time.
As an idea, I especially liked this particular platform, as well as those who contacted it due to our presence in it, because it is very modern and I would say equal to several abroad, who definitely have more experience in this field.
-These days, you present in your gallery, the new work of Kostas Panagiotakopoulos, entitled «Wanderings». How did your collaboration come about and how special do you think his work is?
-Κostas Panagiotakopoulos is one of the regular collaborators of the Cube Gallery and, in fact, with a constant presence, since he is so consistent in his work that he manages to hold a new solo exhibition every two years and, in fact, with a remarkable development. His Wanderings are the result of his almost obsessive travel wanderings. His works work associatively, implicitly.
They give stimuli for wandering in fantastic landscapes, in images that emerge through other images, in special forms that arise and interact, leaving room for the viewer to interpret them from his own point of view, depending on his experiences.
-Upcoming plans?
-I always make plans for both the immediate and the distant future, because it helps me wake up every day with beautiful ideas, and I do not care if any of them do not take place, because something even better will surely come. I definitely continue with my already scheduled exhibitions, and at the same time, I try to organize some new projects, not necessarily in Cube.
In this difficult year, in 2020, Cube completes 10 years of operation, and, in a magical way, the date of December 11, when the official opening took place, returns to the opening of the art project with which we will celebrate it. I would like to hope normally and all together and not from a distance.
We are also planning the next station of Invisible Cities, with the co-curator and favorite collaborator Νikos Vatopoulos, and we have the desire to travel, each time renewed with new participants, in many Dream-cities around the world.
