Coffee and Cigarettes, 2021
Kyveli Zoi
35 x 45 cm
Oil on linen
Unframed
(ships from Greece)
Artwork description
A female figure dressed in a billowing blue gown looms over a mug. The smoke from a cigarette held in her left hand is formed by the absence of color on the canvas revealing the notion of space disappearance, as time is literally burning out in this composition. The recurring symbol of the cigarette in Kyveli's work aims to portray time and, in this case, a pause in it. In reference to her personal meditative process, through the portrayal of this lonely woman focusing on her intimate moment of contemplation while stirring her coffee and smoking her cigarette, Kyvèli hopes to invite the viewer into her world of thoughts, that eventually take the form of her personified imagined self in the paintings.
Kyveli Zoi
Born in Athens and having returned to live and work there now, Kyveli Zoi is a multidisciplinary artist and painter. After attending the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Paris and Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design in London, she completed her BFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York. With such a divergent background, her inspiration comes from this composition of Greece and the USA. She captures the struggles of those around her through a combination of depictions of traditional folklore and contemporary life. Addressing themes such as individuality, identity, humanity, and evolution, Kyveli is most interested in narratives that are revealed as she paints that lead her onto the next one. With ties to theatre and cinema within her artistic background, she likens the canvas to a stage where she can “unravel all the emotions and the idiosyncrasies that take place within my daily surroundings.”
Exhibition History:
2021: La Bohème, pop up exhibition at Shila Hotel Private Suite (Athens-Greece).
2020: Participation in 14th White Columns Online Exhibition “El que Busca Encuentra, y Sigue Encontrando”, curated by Danny Baez of Meca Art Fair. (White Columns Gallery, whitecolumns.org)
2020: Art Direction of Ciné Studio Program in Athens based studio in collaboration with director Giorgos Panousopoulos (60 Benaki street, Athens Greece)
2020: Paintings on Commission for OCEANA Restaurant by Livanos Inc NYC (120 W49th St, New York, NY)
2019: Set Design for My Greek Table TV Show hosted by Diane Kochilas (PBS Channel, USA)
2019: Art Direction of Ciné Studio Screening Program in Athens based studio in collaboration with directors: Antonis Kitsikis, Thomas Kunstler and Dimitri Lambridis (60 Benaki street, Athens Greece)
2018: Set Design for My Greek Table TV Show hosted by Diane Kochilas (PBS Channel,USA)
2018: Participation in the DNA Residency Program in Province Town, MA directed by Freight and Volume Gallery (NY) Director Nick Lawrence
2018: Portfolio Acceptance on White Columns Gallery Online Artist Registry (91 Horatio St, NY, New York – www.whitecolumns.org)
2018: Solo Exhibition "Scenes from the Theatre of Life", March 8-13th 2018, DECADENCE Art Space, 69 Voulgaroktonou st Athens, Greece.
2018: Set Design & Painting for Theatrical Play "To Megalo Krevati" ("The Big Bed") at the Experimental Stage -1, REX Theatre - National Theatre of Greece, ["Το Μεγάλο Κρεβάτι", Πειραματική Σκηνή -1 Θέατρο ΡΕΞ - Εθνικό Θέατρο Ελλάδας] (Athens, Greece)
2018: Assistant Set Designer for Theatrical Play: "Από Σταθμό σε Σταθμό" ("From Station to Station"), by Director Kyriaki Spanou at the Michalis Kakoyannis Foundation (MCF), (Athens, Greece)
2017: Art Director for Short Length Film TETTIX, by Director Antonis Kitsikis, (Athens, Greece)
2017: Visual Art Director for Feature Length Film In the Country that Nobody Knew How to Cry (Σ'αυτή τη Χώρα Kανείς δεν Ηξερε να Κλαίει) by director George Panousopoulos, (Ikaria Island and Athens, Greece) Release Date: September 2018
2017: Set Design & Painting for Theatrical Play "To Megalo Krevati" at Peiramatiki Skini -1, REX Theatre - National Theatre of Greece, ["Το Μεγάλο Κρεβάτι", Πειραματική Σκηνή -1 Θέατρο ΡΕΞ - Εθνικό Θέατρο Ελλάδας] (Athens, Greece)
2017: Art Direction of Performance "The Strongest- My Silence Has Ended", at KALEIDOSCOPE festival, organized by poet Davida Singer at the SVA Theatre NYC, March 24th 2017 (333 W 23rd st NY, New York). Collaboration with actress Eleni Michailidis.
2016: Ousia Restaurant Commission Painting: "Allegory of an Essence" (629 W 57th st, NY, New York) for Livanos Inc NYC
2016: Solo Exhibition Theatre of Passages, (Chora's Castle, Naxos Island, Greece)
2016: Open Studios SVA, Diploma Show (NYC, New York)
2016: Solo Exhibition HEBDOMEROS, (Monroe Warehouse LES, New York City, NY)
2015: Set Painting for OT Theatrical Group, (Athens, Greece)
2014-2015: Illustrator for Film Project Animation Test Tittles, with director George Panoussopoulos (Athens, Greece)
2014: Group Exhibition Two Artists, One Island, (Ikaria, Greece)
2014: Group Exhibition "Portage", Ecole National Des Beaux Arts Paris, (Paris,France)
2014: Exchange Student at Ecole National Des Beaux Arts Paris, (Paris,France)
2013: Group Exhibition "Colour Flow" (SVA, NY, New York)
2012: Salty Hippy Mini Ramp Painting in collaboration with Architect Zachos Varfis (Ikaria, Greece)
2012: Illustrator for RED Design Consultants (Athens, Greece)
2012: Central Saint Martin’s Foundation Diploma
