Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens’ ambitiously curated art program is a partnership between Atelier Ace and ciguë, supported by Matthieu Prat, as well as Aliki Lampropoulos in collaboration with Mare Studio. The program is a sweeping immersion into the present-day Athenian art scene in all its vibrancy, provocative honesty and gritty imagination. Bringing key players of the contemporary Athenian art landscape under one roof, the collection features 18 artists working across disciplines, showcasing a colorful cross-section of works spanning sculpture, mural, tapestry, photography, painting and drawing.
Athens Art Program
Curators
Aliki Lampropoulous
Aliki Lampropoulous is a collaborator of Mare Studio. Since 2020 she has partnered with the studio on projects promoting Greek craftsmanship, art and design. Currently, she works as an advisor to the director of the Acropolis Museum. Aliki previously worked as the Head of International Development at the Museum of Cycladic Art, supporting strategic development and promotion of the Museum in Greece and abroad. She has served as the Head of External Affairs of Common Seas since 2019, collaborating with governments, communication agencies and environmental organizations.
Matthieu Prat
Matthieu Prat’s practice encompasses art, architecture and design, with a focus on spatial interventions, installations and art direction. He is the founder of Diplomates Studio and the Kassandras urban/social laboratory in Athens. His work has been shown at the MAC/VAL contemporary art museum, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Les Filles du Calvaire, Le Fresnoy, Rencontres de la Photographie, Chalet Society, Villa Noailles, Palais de la Porte Dorée, Agricultural University and Souzy Tros. He has collaborated with partners such as Courrèges, SlamJam, OAMC, Damir Doma, Adam Kimmel, Casey Casey and ciguë.
Alekos Fassianos
Οδοδείκτης “ για Βούλα” & δείκτης “Στάδιο” – Road sign “to Voula” & sign “Stadio”
Year of work: Circa 1990s
Gallery: Alekos Fassianos Estate
Materials: Silkscreen
Location: Guest Rooms
Alekos Fassianos (1935–2022) was born in Athens during the interwar period and studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts, before moving to Paris in 1960 with a scholarship from the French government to study lithography at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. While he befriended the Surrealists in Paris, Fassianos did not follow the European avant-garde of the 1960s, focusing instead on developing his own creative vocabulary included by the simplicity of Greek classical and folk art.
Alexandra Masmanidi
The Boy in the Sea Pajamas; Silver Shower
Year of work: 2023; 2023
Materials: Acrylic on photo print and glitch technique
Location: Hotel Lobby
Alexandra Masmanidi is a photographer based in Athens. Alexandra graduated from the Athens University of Applied Sciences with a degree in photography and audiovisual arts. She focuses on creating works that utilize her photographic archive, which she reconstructs, combines or intervenes with collage, scanography and painting techniques. Her work highlights themes of ecology, sexuality and individual identity. Alexandra’s work has been exhibited at Subrosa Space in Athens, the 2021 Thessaloniki Photography Biennale 2021, the 2024 Athens Photo Festival and the Paxos Biennale. Her works have been published in the catalog of the Thessaloniki Film Festival and other art magazines.
Aristeidis Lappas
Study on Bull; Study on The Gift of Shamhat; Study on Self Portrait; Study on Bull and Fruit; Study on Asterion in Torment; Study on Teras; Study on Asterion in Torment; Birth; Study on Fall of Man; Study on Woman on Bull; Warrior
Year of work: 2019–2022
Gallery: The Breeder, Athens
Materials: Charcoal, oil, oil pastel, ink and pencil on paper
Location: Guest Rooms
Aristeidis Lappas lives and works in Athens. He earned a Bachelor of the Arts at the University of West England, Bristol, UK. His work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions including Gift of the Moon Crab, Ludwigshafen Kunstverein, Ludwigshafen, Germany (2024), Seven Days in New Crete, The Breeder, Athens (2023, solo) She who Protects, Mural with Stegi Onass Foundation (2022) (Athens Biennial 7: Eclipse (2021); The Portent Passage of Teras, T.A.R, Molyvos, Lesvos (2021); Tenderness of a Cutting Sword, The Breeder Gallery, Athens (2020, solo); St.A.I.R Artist in Residence, Graz, Austria (November 2020–January 2021); Theorimata 2, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2020); Polymorphic Entrancing Topos, P.E.T Projects, Athens (2019, Solo); Part II, The Breeder, Athens (2019); Break Time Contemplations and Transformer, Washington D.C. (2018).
Bregje Sliepenbeek
Summer Sowing
Year of work: 2022
Materials: Aluminum, metal rings
Location: Passageway from reception to elevator bank
Bregje Sliepenbeek’s work revolves around the transformation of materials. She is fascinated by the metamorphosis she can impose on metal, reshaping a cold, hard material into something soft and organic. Working with flat aluminum sheets, Bregje explores the material’s possibilities in a tactile manner, as if she cannot bear the hardness of the metal and wants to imbue it with feminine softness. Her installations and relief sculptures often contain botanical and historical architectural references.
Chryssa
Series 4
Year of work: 2022
Materials: Aluminum, metal rings
Location: Passageway from reception to elevator bank
Chryssa Vardea-Mavromichali (Greek: Χρύσα Βαρδέα-Μαυρομιχάλη; December 31, 1933 – December 23, 2013) was a Greek American artist who worked in a wide variety of media. An American art pioneer in light art and luminist sculpture, known for her neon, steel, aluminum and acrylic glass installations, she always used the mononym Chryssa professionally. She worked from the mid-1950s in New York City studios and from 1992, worked in the studio she established in Neos Kosmos, Athens, Greece.
Claire Manent
The Premises of Summer
Year of work: 2024
Materials: Acrylic paint
Location: Exterior Facade
Production : UrbanAct
Claire Manent is a French artist based in Athens, whose work is rooted in the tangible realities of her environment. Whether capturing the essence of an intimate interior, a fragment of the urban landscape or a piece of marble found on the streets of Athens, her art seeks to overlay images onto real surfaces, redrawing and transforming perspectives. By focusing on the space between reality and illusion, Claire creates a passage that blurs the lines between the real and the fictional, inviting the viewer to explore a hidden, mind-synthesized space that lies at the heart of her artistic exploration.
“I had spent a night in this hotel before it became an Ace Hotel ten years ago, on the occasion of holidays in Greece on my way back from Syros. The mural looks like an evocation of the clichéd Riviera of the 1960’s and deals as well with a nostalgia of a much more recent time when summer was a balmy omen. A hotel, a room apart, a room of one’s own, a room with a view, overlooking the sea, the horizon and the sky. The sky as a swimming pool. The extra window for a diving board. This wall painting is also a tribute to David Hockney into whose paintings one would love to dive.” — Claire Manent
Despina Charitonidi
All Of My Loves
Year of work: 2024
Materials: Aerated concrete, marble, ceramic, inox, rusted mussels, melted car part, digital print
Location: Lobby
Despina Charitonidi (b. 1991) is a sculptor and performer who lives and works in Athens, Greece. She is a graduate of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma in Italy and the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht in the Netherlands. Charitonidi’s work leans towards a tendency to strip-down natural and primary elements found in urban construction sites. Her work focuses on reforming and transmuting these materials through a process of examining and experimenting with their properties. The results unveil a number of sculptural gestures that holistically reconsider man’s environmental interference.
Her work has been presented among others; Theocharakis Foundation, Greece, (2023), Atopos CVC, Athens (2023); Eins Gallery, Cyprus (2023); Microclima Festival, Venice – Cinema Galleggiante, IT (2022); 2022 Changwon Sculpture Biennale, South Korea (2022); Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina, Novi Saad for the Serbian Pavilion Venice Biennale (2022); Callirrhoë, Athens (2021); Alkinois Project Space, Athens (2021); Ύλη(Matter)Hyle, Athens (2021); “Gemeinsamkeit und Kollektivität trotz Distanz”, Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, Berlin (2021); Hydra School Projects, Hydra, Greece (2020); 2023 Eleusis – European Capital of Culture, Greece (2018); Utrecht Centraal Museum at Hoog Catharijne, Netherlands (2015); and MACRO, Rome Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome (2013). In the summer of 2023 she presented “Bodies floating into the land” under the context of All of Greece One Culture, at the Temple of Poseidon in Tinos island, with the support of the Greek National Opera and Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.
“Collected from the artist studio, these objects work as keyholes to the artist atelier, showcasing a map of material and conceptual research.” — Despina Charitonida
Eleni Psyllaki
Guest rooms:
Falcon, Gouache on paper (2023); Deer, Gouache on paper (2023); Tall Vase with Stripes, Gouache on paper (2023); Self-Centered Vase, Gouache on paper (2021); Tangled Vase with Four Openings, Gouache on paper (2021); Form of a Vase 12, Gouache on paper (2021); Form of a Vase 13, Gouache on paper (2021); After the Laundry, Gouache on paper (2022); ; The Eternal Vessel, Gouache on paper (2023); The Circular Vessel, Gouache on paper (2023); The Lyra Vessel, Gouache on paper (2023); She Who Grasps, Gouache on paper (2023); Lightheaded, Gouache on paper (2023); Saint Incognito, Gouache on paper (2023); Fi, Gouache on paper (2022)
Lobby Wall:
Together Il, 2024 acrylic on canvas
Originally trained as an architect, Eleni Psyllaki’s background informs her art practice. Her paintings and works on paper are characterized by linear sketching, straight lines, scaling and, above all, a love for symmetry. The strict geometry and precision of her works is a continuation of the free sketching one comes across in architectural drawings. Her color palette is infused with balanced earthly tones inspired by her birthplace, Crete — the beige of stone, the brown of tree trunks, the olives’ khaki and the gold of summer cobs. Her forms are strict and minimal and rooted in abstraction where any surplus information or detail is eliminated, infusing the works with a Doric quality.
Elvire Bonduelle
ΕΔΏ ΚΑΙ ΤΏΡΑ / RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW
Year of work: 2024
Materials: Acrylic and wax crayons on canvas
Location: Lobby Wall
Primarily based in Paris, Elvire Bonduelle’s work explores issues of comfort, conformity and norms, as well as freedom of use and attitude in the domestic environment. Her works take forms ranging from objects to architecture: drawings, cushions, lamps, tea towels, armchairs, frescoes, bookcases and balconies — joyfully blurring the boundaries between fine and decorative arts. By creating and diverting everyday objects, her work questions and pokes fun at the pursuit of happiness and our desire for comfort. Through recurring forms and their variations, the artist pursues her quest.
Greece is for Lovers
Shell Patrol
Year of work: 2015
Materials: Steel, styrofoam, seashells & EVA foam
Location: Ground floor restaurant
Greece is for Lovers is the brainchild of Thanos Karampatsos and Christina Kotsilelou, lovingly conceived at the foot of the Acropolis Hill in 2006. Sharing similar aesthetic influences, the creative duo brought a sense of “Greekness” to contemporary product design by introducing humor, irony, nonchalance and extravagance. Inspired by the stereotypical notion of what is widely held to be Greek, their designs comment on habitual activities and behavioral patterns of both the past and the present; they narrate an alternative home country: part memory, part fantasy and part wish. Unwilling to compromise, the GIFL trademark aesthetic sits comfortably in the controversial area between luxe and kitsch. Βy exploring areas widely considered as an anathema or plain shameful, they casually retrieve value and inspiration. Greece is for Lovers’ products, whether one-offs or limited editions, are handmade with care by local craftsmen and are considered a synonym for contemporary Greek design.
Ilias Lefas
Untitled
Year of work: 2024
Materials: Dionysos marble
Location: Reception Desk
Ilias Lefas was born in Athens, Greece in 1977. He left Athens for Milan when he was 17 years old to study illustration at the Instituto Europeo di Design. Later, he studied painting and sculpture at Milan’s Brera Academy of Art. He has worked as personal assistant for designers such as Wunderkammer Studio and Mauro Mori and worked as set designer for fashion shoots before starting his own brand of furniture. His work has been shared in Geneva, Milan, Paris, Berlin, Santa Margherita Ligure, Camogli, Athens, Istanbul, Oporto and Rome.
James Fuller
Sealed from the Inside
Year of work: 2022
Gallery: South Parade, London UK
Materials: Polymer modified gypsum, oxide pigments
Location: Lobby
James Fuller lives and works in Athens, Greece. Fuller works predominantly in sculpture and its many forms: thin metal skins, wall reliefs, hollow fragile objects, furniture and household soap. His practice pursues experimental and unstable processes that operate in the sensitive space between industrial and domestic settings, between mass production and craft scales.
Panos Profitis
Gallery: The Breeder Gallery
Location: Pool Facade
Name of work: Seabirds
Year of work: 2024
Materials: Acrylic spray
Production: UrbanAct
Location: Guest Rooms, wall lamps in each room
Name of work: Harpies
Year of work: 2024
Materials: Cast aluminum
Location: Guest Rooms, framed wall works
Names of works: Peacock Perching on a Branch; An Ample Brunch; A pause to Eat; Taurus in the Shade
(all 2024)
Materials: Acrylics
Panos Profitis lives and works in Athens. He grew up in a small town in the foothills of Mountain Parnassus. Panos holds a Master in Visuals Arts from the Royal Academy of Arts in Antwerp and also obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the Athens School of Fine Arts. He received a study scholarship from NEON organization and was awarded the Hugo Roelandt Price by the Royal Academy of Arts, Hugo Roelandt Estate and Objectif Antwerp for his master’s thesis.
Salma Barakat
Landing; Stem
Year of work: 2024
Materials: 100% cotton, hand embroidered in Mexico
Location: Guest Rooms, blankets on beds
Salma Barakat is a Greek Egyptian artist working under the name Ba, designing rugs and tapestries. Her designs combine collage and loose forms. Barakat designed the custom blankets for each guest room at Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens, with the 100% cotton blankets being hand embroidered in Mexico by textile company MINNA.
The Callas
Horizontal Land
Year of work: 2024
Gallery: Dio Horia Gallery
Materials: Hand embroidered tapestry
Location: Lobby Wall
The Callas are the founding figures of the Greek DIY scene. A loose collective of visual artists, musicians, performers, publishers, organizers of urban and rural festivals, filmmakers and video creators, they are restless explorers of other places and approaches, standing in solidarity with counter-hegemonic collective practices. They have presented work as part of solo and group exhibitions at the Onassis foundation, Benaki Museum / New Museum – DESTE Foundation, Documenta 14, the Palais de Tokyo, Family Business, Dio Horia gallery, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Spark, The Opening gallery, Athens Biennale, Andreas Melas Projects, State of Concept, The Breeder, Kustera Projects, Atopos CVC and the Yinka Shinobare Space. The Callas have worked with Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) and Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) on albums and live music performances. Their latest film, “METS,” premiered at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
Theo Michael
Mask Of Agamemnon
Year of work: 2024
Gallery: Alkinois Project Space
Materials: Wood dust, iron, soil, paper, pigments
Location: Lobby wall
Odyssey Of Mike
Year of work: 2024
Gallery: Alkinois Project Space
Materials: Weathered digital print
Location: Lobby wall
Theo Michael is a Greek artist currently based between Mexico and Athens. Michael is a generalist with a compulsion for vandalized seascapes and recycled polyurethane foam. His practice is a critique of speciesism and he maintains that the reason that bacteria, bees, fish and humans don’t have equal standing is the main driver behind the current climate and pollution emergency. Rocks, soil and fruits from local markets frequently appear in his works as do odd furniture, animal parts, sci-fi props and ancient texts. He received a degree in Fine Art from Aristotle University and Utrecht School Of Art and a Masters degree in Fine Art from Wimbledon School Of Art. His work has been exhibited in Palacio Nacional, Museo Universitario Del Chopo, Museo De La Ciudad De Mexico, Fotomuseum Winterthur, CAC-Passerelle, Thessaloniki Biennale, Kunsthalle Athena and Triangle France, among others. He has had solo shows in Galeria OMR, Preteen Gallery, Steve Turner Contemporary and AMP Gallery Athens. His work has been featured in various publications, namely Artforum, Flash Art, Art Review, La Tempestad, revista Codigo, Designboom and The Los Angeles Times.
“The collages are an exercise that places “Greekness” in an endless anthropological map. They revolve around Greek culture, ancient, modern and contemporary, interspersed with images of a global perspective like astronomy, archaeology and natural history among other themes, handpicked from online databases, book scans and an array of different sources. The works are documents that expand the Greek universe not only in space but time too, evoking memories and sensations to create a new means for communication and thinking. The mosaics monumentalize small and seemingly insignificant moments in the natural world, including a bird eating a mosquito, an ant in the rain, a fish in the waves and bacteria under the microscope etc. The characters that usually don’t get much attention are here the protagonists. The works use the Ancient Greek and Byzantine techniques of tile placing to set the flow and rhythm while the desaturated colors are derived from geological features and archaeological finds.” — Theo Michael
Zoe Paul
Based between Athens and Parnassos mountain, Zoë Paul grew up between the island of Kythera in Greece and Oxford in the UK. Her work incorporates the history of ancient art, often utilizing the representation of the figure in particular to understand our human bodies in relation to the space and belief system they inhabit. Paul uses raw and timeless materials and techniques such as clay, weaving, drawing, and bronze, whose processes and skills are deeply rooted in societies and the creation of communities. Her works, often participation-based, such as the large bead curtains at the border of mosaics and pixels, explore our relationship to tradition and our perceptions of history, social ties and the value of an object in time and context. Questioning the notion of temporalities and private spaces, both architectural and social, her work breaks free of the boundaries between interior and exterior, public and private, like the fragile curtains at the entrance of Mediterranean houses. She explores our relationship between tradition and craft, these works attest to a certain physicality, an attraction to the material, the trace of the artist’s hand. Paul completed her Masters of the Arts in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London in 2012 and has held solo exhibitions in institutions across London, New York, Athens and Brussels.
