Exhibition period:
by appointment only
24 June - 8 September 2024
Reservations hello@oldcarpetfactory.com
Opening week:
16-21 June 2024
Opening hours: Sun-Fr 11 AM - 6 PM
How to find us:
Old Carpet Factory is on Google Maps
Special events:
Literary pop-up
16 June, 12-8 PM
With Mnemosyne Projects and Hydra Book Club
To celebrate 100 years of shared history, Old Carpet Factory and Soutzoglou Carpets present a site-specific exhibition: The Warp of Time. Curated by Ekaterina Juskowski, Founder and Director of the Art Residency at the Old Carpet Factory, the exhibition will be an exploration of memory, heritage, and artistic expression.
Central to the exhibition is the site of the historical Hydra mansion that was transformed into a carpet-weaving factory of the Soutzoglou family in the early 20th century. This legacy inspires the title of the exhibition that offers a nuanced exploration of the relationship between place and memory. Unlike history, memory lacks linearity and includes the act of forgetting; by mixing history and memory, the exhibition invites the viewer to navigate through the past remembered, forgotten and imagined, presenting a warped historiography of the place.
Notably, the exhibition will showcase one antique piece from the Soutzoglou collection that was woven in the house a century ago by the first generation of the family. Going hand in hand with the theme of tradition and modernity, past and present, Art Rug Projects by Soutzoglou invites renowned artist, Helen Marden, especially for this exhibition, to experiment for the first time with the carpet as a medium. Her intuitive watercolors inspired by the memories of Hydra Island will be translated into the hand-made carpets by Soutzoglou expert artisans. This unique collaboration bridges the gap between past and present, combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary artistic vision.
Adding to the exhibition are works of Dimitrios Antonitsis that blur the boundaries between art and tapestry. Described by the artist as “loom-abacuses,” these intricate pieces defy categorization, oscillating between drawings, sculptures, and temporal artifacts. Their presence within the exhibition further enriches the dialogue on the intersection of art, memory, and heritage.
A special limited edition art book published by Mnemosyne Projects will accompany the exhibition.
Curator - Ekaterina Juskowski
Curatorial advisors - Dimitrios Antonitsis, Electra Soutzoglou
Co-Produced with Mnemosyne Projects
Installation view. Photo by Sarah Rainer
Helen Marden born in Pittsburgh, in 1941. She graduated with a BFA in art from Pennsylvania State University in 1963, and then, inspired by Paul Bowles’s translations of storytellers such as Mohamed Mrabet of Tangier, traveled to Europe and Morocco before relocating to New York City. Helen Marden’s paintings feature a vivid palette informed by her travels to Greece, India, and Morocco. Using resin to bind color-saturated acrylics and raw powdered pigments with found objects such as shells, feathers, and sea glass, she invests the aesthetics and techniques of expressive abstraction with renewed variety and purpose. In both inspiration and her chosen mediums, her paintings are rooted in the natural world while offering a connection to the spiritual realm through conviction and intuition. Helen Marden is represented by Gagosian Gallery.
Dimitrios Antonitsis born in Athens, in 1966. He studied mechanical engineering at the Zurich ETH and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York (Master of Science), where he specialised in the high-speed microscopic photography of vortex rings. He won an award for his short film Past Glories, Present Despondencies, a collaboration with Robert De Niro’s production company. His work has appeared in 15 solo and 55 group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.
He is the founder and curator of HSP 'Hydra School Projects', an international platform for the visual arts and the HSP Residency Program. Held annually since 2000 the Hydra School Projects, named because these contemporary art exhibitions are shown at the old Hydra High School, showcase the work of up-and-coming, young Greek as well as international artists alongside those already well established.
Art Rug Projects by Soutzoglou focuses on the interactive collaboration with Greek and international contemporary artists whose selected works are transformed into handmade rugs and tapestries as original works of art, either as limited editions or as unique pieces. Every collaboration is an opportunity for the artist to discover a new medium, to expand their practice in new ways, imagining the rug as their canvas. Carpet-making is linked with the tradition of the past, whereas contemporary art is an expression of the present. By adapting age-old traditions in a modern context, Art Rug Projects "weaves" heritage, history and handicraft with contemporary art and creative expression.
Old Carpet Factory Recording Studio and Art Residency is located on Hydra Island in Greece. Since its founding in 2016 by producer Stephan Colloredo-Mansfeld, the studio has gained international acclaim for its unconventional setting in a remote location, an extensive list of cult vintage and rare analog gear. Art Residency at the Old Carpet Factory founded by curator, researcher and photographer Ekaterina Juskowski in 2019 is a highly selective program with the mission to record and preserve Hydra’s cultural heritage, to support new creative ideas, and to expand access to the unique cultural setting of the island and its community.
Mnemosyne Projects is a global non-profit initiative dedicated to the preservation of authentic sites of memory. Through research, curation, and strategic partnerships Mnemosyne Projects identify, record and archive cultural phenomena that hold historical significance in the collective creative memory of communities. Its mission is to ensure that these symbols of our shared past continue to inspire, educate, and resonate with people today and in the future.
