Andreas Angelidakis
DEMOS

February 14, 2018–December 31, 2019
Albertinum Museum, Dresden

The documenta 14 work “Demos” by the Greek artist Andreas Angelidakis was saved for the Albertinum. This was acquired by the Society for Modern Art in Dresden e. V., which makes the work available on permanent loan. The work consists of 74 padded modules with a concrete look that can be used flexibly. As part of documenta 14 in Athens, “Demos” was the platform for the public event program entitled “The Parliament of Bodies.” From today, this constantly changing installation, which is both a sculpture and a seating module, will be used as a forum in the atrium in the long term . The title refers among other things to the ancient Greek term for ‘the people of a state’.

Andreas Angelidakis (* 1968 in Athens) works at the interface between art and architecture. One of his focal points is the artistic examination of topics such as history and archeology, ruins and reconstructions, historical reality and architectural fictions. The topic of the ruin, regardless of whether ancient or modern, real or virtual, receives special attention. In his videos or 3D prints, the artist often refers to existing buildings or digital artifacts that can be understood as allegories for architectural and historical conditions, for political and social conditions. Just as Greek architecture once found its way into European architecture, it is here the fragments of modernity, a Europe in crisis, that brought the Albertinum from Athens.

Hilke Wagner, Director Albertinum : “’Demos’ is a mobile, changeable sculpture that every visitor can literally own! In this way, it is not just a dialogue-stimulating object, but itself a place where dialogue arises. I understand the atrium as a semi-public forum, an agora in which exchange and encounter should take place. The perfect place for ‘demos’. When I saw the work in Athens, I immediately imagined it in the Albertinum. I am the Society for Modern Art in Dresden e. V. deeply grateful that she made this permanent loan possible! ”

Andreas Angelidakis: “The work developed for documenta 14 consists of modules. A single, soft concrete step on which you can either stand to speak or sit to listen. This module was multiplied in copies as a variation of itself. Are they levels for the speakers or for the audience? (…) Each variation is a ‘demo’ for public exchange. ”