Psalmika

Manolis D. Lemos, solo show Psalmika Duration: 27.06.24 - 24.08.24 CAN Christina Androulidaki gallery inaugurates its new central Athens space near Omonoia Square with a solo exhibition of Manolis D. Lemos entitled Psalmika running from June 27 to August 24, 2024. Psalmika invites audiences into a realm where the boundaries of reality and imagination blur, offering a profound meditation on the transformative power of AI in shaping contemporary artistic expression. Through Lemos' visionary lens, viewers are prompted to reconsider the evolving relationship between humanity and technology in the pursuit of creative innovation. The exhibition explores the convergence of dreams, memories, and visions, all mediated through a set of advanced AI and machine learning tools of image, drawing and text generation that the artist has meticulously developed over the last six years, starting from his collaboration with Konstantinos Daskalakis and his team at the MIT Computer Science and AI Lab. The works in this show forge a profound link between personal visions and the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Reflecting on his creative process, Lemos remarks, "I saw these works in my dreams. I heard this title in my dreams. But my dreams nowadays are all mediated." Since 2018, the artist uses these tools as emotional and personal expressive instruments. They have enabled him to translate drawings and texts into images, reproducing feelings, atmospheres, and textures associated with the artist's starting point inspiration. The painterly (plastic) qualities he has achieved with these tools are critical for the artist, as well as the ambiguity of these images, as they could not be created in any other way. An important part of the production process of these works is the use of photographic images that Lemos has shot or collected, as well as the creation of hundreds of rudimentary sketches, which were given as training materials to the custom AI software/tools, in order to create new interpretations and versions according to specific instruction sets. Then, through a cyclical collaborative process between Lemos and these tools, the artist created works that consist either of monochrome abstract paintings with drawn lines suggesting sketches or occasional abrasions and erasures, or more figurative works depicting angels, saints, spirits, or scenes of nature or people that incorporate themes of transience, transformation, otherworldliness. Technically, the multicolored paintings are large-scale hybrid compositions crafted with UV-cured ink and gestural oil paint brushstrokes over linen. The digital images generated by the neural networks serve as foundational elements, accentuated by Lemos' selective application of oil paint to enhance texture, depth, color and composition. This synthesis of industrial processes and traditional painting techniques underscores the exhibition's exploration of collaborative and experimental art practices. In this exhibition for the first time, utilizing his own text-to-image software, Lemos translated poem verses into images and then made hundreds of versions of each to recreate the feelings, the atmosphere and the textures that better capture his visions, dreams or personal memories. Last but not least, in the center of the gallery stands an installation of wavy metal panels, marble dust and scattered posters that carry the text from the artist's 2023 long poem and performance ‘Ashes from the Sea’, also created in a similar process of training, generating and editing back. The text generation processes Lemos uses are developed with his own poems or music lyrics and are then cyclically translated into other iterations and multiple versions that are re-selected into their final poem format. Psalmika prompts reflection on the intersection of human emotion and technological advancement. The works in the exhibition aim to delve into themes of mediated emotional expression, blurriness and responsibility, inviting viewers to reflect on the changing role of technology and its significance in redefining concepts and shaping artistic narratives today. Bio. Manolis D. Lemos (b. 1989, Athens) lives and works in Athens, Greece and is a visual artist, musician and founding member of art/fashion label SERAPIS Maritime and Arbit City group. He studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts (2007-2012) and at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. He exhibited his work at the 2018 New Museum Triennial “Songs for Sabotage” in New York and has received the Stavros Niarchos Foundation artist fellowship. He has also completed a residency of the Onassis Foundation and the residency of Pavillon Neuflize OBC in Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He has participated in several initiatives of 89plus, an international research project co-founded by Simon Castets and Hans Ulrich Obrist. His solo exhibitions include “When I Think Of You I Shiver In Awe”, 2021 in FORUM ARTE Braga, Portugal, “Feelings”, 2019 in CAN Gallery, Athens; “Tomorrow’s Corporate Love (Forgetting from Athens)”, 2017 in Palais de Tokyo, Paris; “Crooked Grid Crude Carrier”, 2015 and “Feral Remnants/Oinousses”, 2013 in CAN Gallery, Athens. His works can be found in PCAI Corporate Art Collection, the Onassis Foundation Collection and various important private collections in Europe and America. He is represented by CAN Christina Androulidaki gallery, Athens. CAN CHRISTINA ANDROULIDAKI GALLERY Chalkokondyli 19, 10432 Athens T/F +30.6973749271 [email protected] www.can-gallery.com Opening Hours: Tuesday - Friday: 11am-3pm and 5-8pm, Saturday: 11-4pm