Templo or Fear, Vision, Hope, 2017
Peggy Kliafa studied at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) and then at the Athens School of Fine Arts (2005 – 2012). She has held many solo exhibitions in Greece and participated in group exhibitions and art fairs in Greece and other countries. Her works have been acquired by public collections/museums in Greece as well as foundations and private collections in Greece and abroad.
Specifically made for the exhibition Creative Encounters 2017 – Michalis Katzourakis, Peggy Kliafa, Vassilis Gerodimos. Metamorphoses of Matter, at Metsovo vineyards in 2017, Peggy Kliafa’s artwork is titled Templo or Fear, Vision, Hope. The artist was inspired by observing that vineyards and vines are commonly depicted on the iconostasis or other parts of churches, symbolising the importance of the vine and wine for religion, both in Christianity as well as in the worship of Bacchus and Dionysus. The artist focuses on a deification of the Vine and Christ’s saying, “I am the vine; you are the branches”. It was selected as a site-specific sculpture installation in dialogue with a modern vineyard. Kliafa evokes the strong local cultural and religious traditions against the spectacular vineyard landscape of Metsovo. The artwork comprises a three-tier sculpture installation consisting of steel-wire rods used in building construction and aluminium sheets. The horizontal construction measures H 4m × W 7m × D 2m approximately. The fine construction at the centre evokes an apsidal entrance. Different-size aluminium surfaces serve as mirrors, reflecting the vineyards and integrating the vegetation in a simple yet brilliant manner. There are many influences and dependencies in the forms from modernism, abstraction, and minimalism, as well as from Platonic philosophy, encouraging introspection and self-knowledge by having the aluminium act as a mirror and incorporating reflections from nature and the viewers themselves in the sculpture. This artwork combines all three of the exhibition concepts. Reference to religion entails fear, vision, and hope. The metal iconostasis is also an “environment” activated by the viewer’s presence inside it, since it is not a sanctum.
