A Dog At Your Boop - Kinky Stories in Greek Clay · Pat Andrea

A Dog At Your Boop - Kinky Stories in Greek Clay

Pat Andrea

01/12/22 - 28/01/23 Athens TEXT BY Niovi Kritikou TRANSLATION BY Niovi Kritikou ART DIRECTOR Maria Almpani

Ceramic Vase,
22 x 35 cm,
2022

Delving into Pat Andrea's ceramic works, we immediately perceive a direct connection with Greek traditional pottery. His shapes come to reinforce his subject matter, which revolves around the female gender and his innermost thoughts. Curves are used in a self-referential way to the feminine nature. They praise, with subtle simplicity, the erogenous zones. The smooth and white, almost porcelain effect, beautifies the ceramics, imparting calmness and a tendency for internal introspection.

Ceramic Vase,
22 x 35 cm,
2022

His subject matter is inspired by ancient Greek mythology, the subconscious and the fantasy. Eroticism is pervasive, which makes his works exude a sensual state. Design-wise, it maintains a childlike roughness and distortion, with elements from everyday pop culture, which enhance the sense of liberation in the work. His color palette is usually in shades of blue, associated with the Greek folk tradition, while often an earthy color participates to break the monochromatic monotony. Sometimes, his compositions are intricately intertwined and others communicate with the outer shape of the ceramic pot, that creates boxed narratives.

Ceramic Vase,
22 x 35 cm,
2022

Pat Andrea demonstrates a hidden psyche of fantasy and sensuality that tries to provoke the viewer. Scenes with references to canine worship, paradox and the unspeakable, create a dreamlike world. Taboo ceases and freedom is the primal case, as he lights up the unconsciousness that tries to conceal. The artist’s purpose is to reflect on the limits of thought, around the liberation of eroticism and feminine nature. With figures such as Medusa, it brings to the fore looks of reflection, agitation or delight. The reference to the goddess, also known as Gorgo, which means wild look, ultimately transforms her into an external judge. The artist hides messages around voyeurism and indirectly comments, like a diary of a girl coming of age, on hidden love affairs, ideas of liberation or fantasies.

Ceramic Vase,
22 x 35 cm,
2022

Often, the shape of the ceramic vessel seems to trap a woman's temperament and psyche, while sometimes liberating it. White color serves the meaning of purity, while the blue color from its figures, lighten the emotional psyche. Pat Andrea treats each ceramic with the independently like a canvas. However, the overall effect, creates a complex narrative of emotion. Finally, we should not fail to mention the concept of the vessel itself. In this particular work, it is as much significant as is conceptual, in terms of female puberty, pregnancy but also the inner security of the deeper thoughts of the soul.

Niovi Kritikou | Art Historian / Visual Artist

Ceramic Vase,
22 x 35 cm,
2022

Thoughts by Pat Andrea…

Earth, water, and fire /22 When I walked up to Stamatis ceramic studio in Ilioupolis (suncity, not sincity) I had no idea what I was going to paint on the twelve magnificent ceramic vases that were made for the purpose. I wanted to be “blanc, that s to say yes, blanc” thus with no plan, no sketches, but sure with my mind full of all these creatures (mainly feminine) and situations I created in a life span, that were lurking in the folds of my (un)conscioness and memory. I was going to free them now, directly on the dried clay of the curved vases, painting with the water – mixed pigments (ground rocks), to have them fixed and put to life, burning them in volcanic heat. And so we did, steadily working, 12 hours a day, with every day a first reinvigourating early morning swim in the nearby Aegan sea.

It was a powerful experience, a fight to sublimate the elements and if I may say, so the imagination, I hope you like the results.

Pat Andrea