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biography

Born in Thessaloniki (Greece). At the age of fifteen years she moves to Lyon (France) where she completes the secondary school. She studied at the School of Fine Arts of Grenoble and Psychopathology and Pedagogy at the Universities Paris V and Grenoble. She has worked as researcher in psychiatric epidemiology and as art director in film production. Since 1976, Lydia Dambassina has been working with different mediums such as painting, photography, installations and video projections.
In 2004, she started working on a series of staged photographs in which the image co-exists with texts -mainly excerpts- from the greek and french daily newspapers. Amplifying news fragments into weighty ontological or existential gestures seems an efficient way to deal with all this tragic absurdity. In the last ten years, her work focuses on the global economic and moral crisis and inequalities that develop geometrically.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 “Lorem Ipsum”, Κέντρο Τεχνών Δήμου Αθηναίων | “Lorem Ipsum”, City of
Athens Arts Centre
κατάλογος | catalogue
2018 “Mors”, Museum Katsigra, Larissa
catalogue

2016

“Gini coefficient, Yeni Cami, 51e Dimitria Festival, Thessaloniki
catalogue

2015
“2100 mots d’amour, 2500 mots d’amour”, Underground Ottoman Fountain of Splantzia, Chania
catalogues
2012
“Party’s over – Starts over”, State Museum of Contemporary Art –
Contemporary Art Center, Thessaloniki
catalogue
“Party’s over – Starts over”, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art –
Alex Mylona Museum, Athens
2008
“What scratches the glass from the inside”, installation, Ad Lib group dance,
Athens Festival
2007
“Real Freedoms that people enjoy”, “Nuit Blanche”, Saint Eustache, Paris
“Family story”, Hôpitaux Universitaires, Geneva
“Family story”, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
“Real Freedoms that people enjoy”, Unfair, Zita-Mi Gallery, Athens-Thessaloniki
catalogue
2006
“Wonderful rooms”, installation, Ad Lib group dance, Athens
2005
“Family story I”, Zita-Mi Gallery, Art-fair, Athens
catalogue
2000
“Les matelas ne disparaîtront jamais”, Ιnstitut Français, Thessaloniki
catalogue
“Preservation”, Artio gallery, Athens
1997
Zita-Mi Gallery, Thessaloniki
Metamorfosis Gallery, Thessaloniki
1996
“1996”, Gallery 3, Athens
catalogue
1995
Antonia Havani Gallery, Corfu
1994
Zita-Mi Gallery, Thessaloniki
Vourkariani Gallery, Kea
1989
Zita-Mi Gallery, Thessaloniki
1986
Psychico Gallery, Athens
1984
Zita-Mi Gallery, Thessaloniki

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)

2022

Reality check chapter II, INNER SANCTUM, Ψυχιατρικό Νοσοκομείο
Αττικής, Δαφνί | Psychiatric Hospital Dafni, Athens
general catalogue
Art Forest, L’arbre dans l’art contemporain, Musée de l’eau, le Grand
Séchoir et le Couvent des Carmes, Pont en Royans

 

2021

Radium Palace, KGold Temporary Gallery, Λέσβος | Lesbos
general catalogue
ΠΡΑΣΙΝΟ ΠΕΡΑsMA, Μουσείο Αλιείας και Ναυπηγικής Αλιευτικών
Σκαφών, Πέραμα | GREEN PATH, Museum of Fishery, Perama
L’art, l’eau et les femmes, Galerie Analix Forever, Γενεύη | Genève
The Right to Breath, Undercurrent.nyc, online Group exhibition
Reality check, Ψυχιατρικό Νοσοκομείο Αττικής, Δαφνί | Psychiatric
Hospital Dafni, Athens
general catalogue
ΜΟΝΟΣ by Marios Fournaris and his seven guests, Galerie Analix
Forever, Γενεύη | Genève

 

2019

“Τα δημώδη”, a touring exhibition, Museum for Popular Craft & Tradition, Athens
general catalogue

“Still Alive”, The Project Gallery, Athens
“Hommage à Gounaro”, Gounaropoulos Museum, Athens
“Welcome: The European Philoxenia and its Borders”, The Project Gallery, Athens
“ΩΩΩ  Δ Ι Σ Ι Α”, Museum of the Winds, Athens
“+9”, Iera Odos, Athens
digital general catalogue

“Poisons”, Kechagia Square, Amfissa
general catalogue
“ a.O. – b.c. (after Olympics – before crisis)”, State of Concept, Fine Arts School, Athens

 

2018

“The Memory of the Revolution”, a touring exhibition, Katsigras Museum, Larissa, School of Fine Arts, Athens
catalogue
“Τα δημώδη”, The Symptom Project #9, Amfissa
catalogue
“Looking Out Looking In”, Murat Centoventidue Arte Contemporanea, Bari

2017

“New Acquisitions”, (2014-2017), National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST)
“Shared Sacred Sites”, a touring exhibition, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Yeni Cami, parallel program of Thessaloniki 6th Biennale, Thessaloniki

catalogue
“anafora periptoseon (Report on Cases)”, Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens
“The Body is Victory and Defeat of Dreams”, Municipal Gallery of Mythimna, Lesvos
catalogue

2016

“Genii Loci”, Greek art from 1930 to the present, Museum Manege, Saint Petersbourg
catalogue
“Identifying loss”, The Symptom 07, Amfissa
catalogue
“Welcome – The European Hospitality and its Borders”, Museum of Visual Arts, Heraclion
“Open studios”, Fondation Anokato, Keramikos

2015
“Rims and Frontiers”, The Symptom Projects, Amfissa
catalogue
“Philoxenia”, Contemporary Art Exhibitions, Olivepress, Chania
2014
“Body Memory”, State Museum of Contemporary Art – Contemporary Art Center, Thessaloniki
“Tradition Reversal”, Collection of Thessaloniki State Museum of Contemporary Art, Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo
“Unhappy ready – made”, KUAD gallery, Istanbul
2013
“Transition”, Μunicipal Pinacotheque, Athens
catalogue
Biennale4, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
catalogue
“Sacred and Profane Love”, Dourakis winery, Chania
catalogue
“Bohemians”, The Breeder Gallery, Athens
2011
“Proposal for the Monument dedicated to the Holocaust Jewish victims in Athens”, Jewish Museum of Greece, Athens
catalogue
“Σύγχρονη Ελληνίδα”, The Hub, Athens
catalogue
2010
“Others”, The Biennials of art of Marrakech, Istanbul and Athens in Palermo, MuseoRiso and Fondazione Puglisi Cosentino, Catania
“Escapism”, Kourd Gallery, Athens
catalogue
Kunsthalle Athena, Αθήνα, Athens
“I would like to give you my heart for ever”, Zita-Mi Gallery and Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art,Thessaloniki
catalogue
2009
“Heaven”, 2nd Athens Biennale
catalogue
2008
“Environment, Action 08”, Villa Kazouli, Athens
catalogue
“Places”, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
2007
“Heterotopias”, 1st Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, State Museum of Contemporary Art
catalogue
“Places”, Benaki Museum, Athens
catalogue
2006
“Flowers in Contemporary Art”, Benaki Museum, Athens
catalogue
2005
“Caravanserai”, Caucasus Centre of Contemporary Art, Tbilisi
catalogue
“AmartyaSen”, Dialogues, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art,
Thessaloniki
“Unclaimed Luggage”, Artrageous Group, Circulo de BellasArtes,
Madrid
catalogue
2004
“Cosmopolis I”, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
catalogue
Greek Embassy, Istanbul
2003
“300+1”, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
catalogue
2000
“Paradise is a personal matter” (director D. Arapoglou), 90 mn film, art direction, Athens
1998
“New Acquisitions II”, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
catalogue
1997
“Montrouge-Athènes”, 42e Salon de Montrouge, Paris
catalogue
“De Valigia”, Cross Cultural Exhibition, Cross Cultural Exhibition, Cultural Capital of Europe, Thessaloniki
catalogue
“New Acquisitions I”, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
catalogue
1996
“Women/Beyond Borders II”, Cross Cultural Exhibition, Basel
catalogue
1982
“Centenaire du jouet Français”, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
1980
“Bateau ivre”, choreography Daniel Lommel, Aenaon Dance Theater, assistant to Alexis Akrithakis, Athens
Zita-Mi Gallery, with Yves Fajnberg, Thessaloniki