Artist: Vasilis Papageorgiou
Exhibition title: Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or
Curated by: Mirela Baciak
Venue: Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg, Austria
Date: March 3 – April 28, 2024
Photography: All images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Salzburger Kunstverein
The exhibition Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or invites us into a contemplation on the capitalist systems of pleasure, their role in the cyclical depletion of planetary resources, and the loop these create in relation to the need for rest and regeneration.
At its core, the exhibition navigates through two distinct discourses, as hinted at in its title. The tourism industry’s emblematic “sunseekers” — those who chase the warmth and follow the promise of endless pleasure under the sun, are juxtaposed with the idea of “dimming the sun,” which stems from the scientific discourse surrounding solar radiation management (SRM)—a geoengineering solution to cool the earth by artificially dimming the sun’s rays. Papageorgiou’s choice to punctuate the exhibition title with an additional “or” hints at a realm of possibilities beyond this dichotomy, suggesting an exploration of alternatives, or perhaps, an unresolved question into the future we are collectively authoring. It is in this speculative space that the exhibition finds its expression.
The exhibition operates with several evocative elements such as an array of metal sunbeds that host smaller sculptures such as copper-plated beach towels, a solitary flower, a drawer containing a newspaper proclaiming a “return to the stars,” among others. These sunbeds, in their deliberate composition, become the or-spaces where the light of leisure meets the shadow of tourism’s environmental impact, urging us to ponder our place between the aspiration of pleasure and the sustainability of our planet.
Curator: Mirela Baciak
Sound designer: Dimitris Prokos
Studio coordinator: Mariana Antzoulatou
Blacksmiths: Thanos Vasileiou & George Frantzoglou
Copper technician: Dimitris Philippakis
Marble technicians: Earth Marbles by Malevitis
Ceramicist: Daphne Leon
Thank you Olympia Tzortzi (Callirrhoë), Paola Bonino & Marta Barbieri (UNA Galleria)
The exhibition is commissioned and produced by Salzburger Kunstverein. Courtesy of the artist.
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed II, 2024, painted steel, Macauba marble, copper plated beach towel, 170 x 70 x 99 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed II, 2024, painted steel, Macauba marble, copper plated beach towel, 170 x 70 x 99 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed V (double), 2024, painted steel, video, screen, copper plated beach towel, 178 x 120 x 85 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed V (double), 2024, painted steel, video, screen, copper plated beach towel, 178 x 120 x 85 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed III, 2024, painted steel, newspaper, cast bronze, 209 x 60 x 84 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed III, 2024, painted steel, newspaper, cast bronze, 209 x 60 x 84 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed IV (double), 2024, painted steel, 213 x 120 x 82 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed I, 2024, painted steel, copper plated beach towel Tinos marble, cast bronze ring, 193 x 95 x 96 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed IV (double), 2024, painted steel, 213 x 120 x 82 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed I, 2024, painted steel, copper plated beach towel Tinos marble, cast bronze ring, 193 x 95 x 96 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed III, 2024, painted steel, newspaper, cast bronze, 209 x 60 x 84 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed III, 2024, painted steel, newspaper, cast bronze, 209 x 60 x 84 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed II, 2024, painted steel, Macauba marble, copper plated beach towel, 170 x 70 x 99 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
Vasilis Papageorgiou, May They Go Like Water, and Flow Back to Us, 2024, digital video, 12 sec, Edition 1 of 3, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation
