Sans Rival brings together the work of two sculptors, Theodore Psychoyos (1968, Greece) and Raoul Maria de Pesters (1937, Switzerland).

The title of the exhibition comes from the industrial space that hosts it, the former Sans Rival ouzo factory located in the port of Piraeus. Τhe building itself is a fragment of the industrial history of Greece, with its particular architecture and the traces of its previous identity being apparent in the space. The factory, now called Kaminos 44, was recently repurposed by Molonglo for various artistic production and manufacturing.

Sans Rival is a three-way relationship in which the two artists and the space are in open conversation. Within the spatial condition created by this industrial space, materiality and contradiction intertwine in a state of perfect balance.

Theodore Psychoyos practice involves reclaiming marble which has been processed through a post-industrial framework, that is marble that had been cut until the great revolution of marble manufacturing in Greece in 1930 - 1960 and which, due to technological developments, was no longer in use. With no potential and therefore no interest, this material which ended up being rejected by the system, through Psychoyos approach acquires a new identity and is transformed into a functional object. His intervention is minimal and his approach holistic: the hand, the sun, light and water have all had the same influence on each work and each remaining part finds a singular use as a different object.

The work of Raoul De Pesters, a historical artist of the optical art (op-art) movement, is presented for the first time in Athens. Raoul De Pesters was born in 1937 in the legendary community of intellectuals and artists of Monte Veritá in Lake Ascona, Switzerland. In Paris, he participated in exhibitions at the historic Denise René gallery and has collaborated extensively with the artists Horacio Garcia Rossi and Hugo Demarco. The mobiles sonores (sound sculptures) that are presented in the exhibition are intricate compositions made primarily of natural elements such as wood and metal. They evolve in space and time, creating resonating sounds through seemingly random movement.

In the exhibition Sans Rival, the robust material of Theodore Psychoyos work provides the solid ground through which the subtlest qualities of Raoul de Pester's work are allowed to emerge. The two approaches meet at a center, the point where their transformative power is concentrated and their energy is generated.

The exhibition Sans Rival suggests a poetic and contemplative dialogue between the practices of the two artists through their respective materials, stone and sound. They both meet in their humble attempts to investigate nature by exploring its manifested forms, gravity and chance, movement and balance, the momentary and the perennial.

Within this dialogue between matter and void, silence and sound, the visitor is invited to generate, listen, touch, rest, meditate, move, reflect.

Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos,

21/5/2023

Raoul Maria de Pesters (1937, Switzerland) is a sculptor, whose work explores the world of sound and movement. His works have been part of solo and group exhibitions: Salons des Grands et Jeunes d'Aujourd'hui, Paris (1969–87), XIVe Triennale, Milan (1968), Atelier du Spectateur/Biennale de Paris (1969), Kunsthalle Recklinghausen (1969), Parcours Sonore of the Parc de la Villette, Paris (curated by Ricardo Basualdo, 1992), Ferme du Buisson, Marne-la Vallée (1994).

Theodore Psychoyos (1968 Greece, France) is a sculptor, designer and painter. His recent work in marble explores the concepts of gravity and balance. His works have been part of solo and group exhibitions: Salon de Mobile, Milan (2001), Blackblock, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2010), AMP, Athens (2010), Atopos, Athens (2011), Benaki Museum, Athens (2011), No Respect: Onassis Cultural Center, Athens (2014), Boite Noire, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, (2017), Carwan Gallery (2022). Theodore Psychoyos was awarded the Australian Price for Art in Architecture for his 19 floors mural at New Acton in Canberra, Australia.

Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos (1991, Athens) is an independent curator and writer. From 2017 until 2023 she served as the Artistic Director of Art Athina, the International Art Fair of Athens. In the past, she has organized curatorials and has collaborated with organizations such as: SOMA (SOMA SUMMER Fellow and Curator of the Annual Group Exhibition, 2016, Mexico City), Greek Participation in the 56th Venice Biennale (Project Manager, 2015, Venice), Museum Vienna Contemporary Art (Archivist, 2013-2015), Palais de Tokyo (Assistant Curator, 2012, Paris) As an art writer, Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos has published art reviews, essays and interviews in catalogues, publications and online platforms.

Kaminos 44 is a former ouzo factory located in the port city of Piraeus, recently repurposed by Molonglo. A translation of its name offers the word kiln, or furnace – the singular of Kaminia, the name of the neighbourhood. Brutal in character, the building's open factory floor plates, mezzanines, voids and courtyards serve as robust spaces for various forms of artistic production and manufacturing.

Molonglo was established in 1964 and has offices and active projects in Athens, Canberra and Melbourne. Molonglo sees property development as the willing of architecture into being; from an abstraction of drawings and ideas into something to be touched, inhabited and lived in. Molonglo does this through property investment and development, research and publishing. In addition to Kaminos 44, Molonglo's current projects in Athens include a series of sensitively restored apartments. Situated across two neighbourhoods—geographically distinct, but linked by their energy and charm—they represent an act of reverse ruination. They are refurbished without unnecessary adornment, honouring the portrait of the building conceived over many generations.