180x120 is a series of open invitations made to artists working in Athens, over the course of 2022, to produce a single artwork of the same format. Held in a private space in the center of the capital, the ongoing project aims to represent a fraction of the rich landscape of contemporary art produced in the city, by both Greek and international artists.
For this project and its artists, the format of 180 by 120 cm is an equalizer. The form is of an anthropomorphic scale, it exists as a standard frame size and it’s the largest shape to fit inside the elevator of the office building which the space sits on top of. The showroom situation, too, is limited and presents one or two works at once, always maintaining the same hanging and set up with respect to the architecture of the space and the light falling into it.
More than a painting or an image, each work in 180x120 is a tableau - which, as an object, inherently shines through its variable temporality and its immobility. A painting or a tableau carrying an image has, in itself, many durations - depending on the viewer opposite it. It also offers the possibility of not looking at all. Secondly, the immobility of the work relates to its permanent existence on the canvas and to the immobile point of the view of the canvas, remaining still amidst its perpetually changing surroundings.
By being imposed a limitation of size and surface and by being limited to only one work, the artist is forced to be very specific in their creation process. The work is often a result not only of their own introspection and respective artistic process but also of in-depth conversations about what lies at the core of their practice.
Contact
florent.frizet@gmail.com
