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Published: 11.07.2024

Bio

Yiota Vogli is an artist and jeweler based in Athens, Greece. She received her PhD & Master of Fine Arts Degrees from Belgrade University of Arts and her Bachelor’s Degree in Painting, from the University of Fine Arts, Athens Greece. She has extensive experience as an art teacher in Specialized Public School for Jewelry design. She is the co author of two books for the Greek Ministry of Education. Her works are to be found in private and public collections and represented by galleries in Greece, Europe, USA and Brazil.

Statement

Jewelry is like a biography. It’s a story that tells many chapters of our life. /  Erin Wasson
Through this presentation, you’ll be able to see the chapters of my story and the rewriting of my path from painter to jewelry artist. As a visual artist, my relationship with jewelry is bidirectional. My jewelry is influenced from my artistic research. Observation and painting require the engagement of all of our senses, thus, in my work I draw on memory and therefore on my senses. Addressing jewelry as micro-sculpture, I refer to form, material, colors and texture to conceptualize personal memories and my view of social and cultural issues into art.

By making art jewellery, artists create visual poetry. Literature and Jewellery both describe ideas, imagery, sounds or smells. They are, both, telling a story, expressing emotions, advocating ideas, examine or questioning the values of ourselves and our culture.    
These works are inspired by Yiannis Ritsos’ poem Moonlight Sonata which revolves around the subject of loneliness and the alienation of the individual. Refers to the concept of time, and the emphasis placed on moonlight is of particular importance since, unlike the life-giving light of the sun that calls to action, moonlight requires reckoning and reminiscing, confronting and evaluating the past.


Our Fragile Life, 2020-ongoing
During the pandemic, creativity became, as always, my chosen way-out to maintain mental balance.
Having just a few materials available at home, I started cutting, rolling and sticking masking tape pieces together. This became a calming meditative process which brought memories of a life so different compared to what we were suddenly forced to live in.
Cutting, rolling, sticking together over and over again, turning like a story teller images, people, emotions, fear, anger, sadness and hope into colorful delicate fragile forms, supported by wired staidly structures, making jewelry stories about the desire and appreciation of simple moments in life. 


Traces of Time
I have assembled an urban area suspended between reality and fantasy by mapping from above-selected buildings, old and new, squares and sidewalks of Athenas street- the oldest commercial and noisy street in the center of Athens- trying to compose documentary images made out of observation not only of the past but of the contemporary reality by presenting a collage of the area challenged by new visions, inquiring the relationship between space and identity.

Unveiled Sentiments
This collection has been for me a means to look into the inner qualities and essence of materials and objects while trying to redefine simplicity not only as an aesthetic value but also as a moral ideal intimately connected to the nature of truth.
Paying attention to nature, space, details and materials, and rediscovering forms, elements, repetition and colors, I attempt to ‘listen’ to the deeper essence of the abstract and invisible qualities of our surrounding environment and to create new associations, and a dialogue between sites and humans, structures and body.


Shielded Sentiments, 2019
Protecting our self physically is a pretty straight forward affair. Developing a keen awareness of our surroundings and habits that will avoid life-threatening situations is basic. Then there is having a plan of action when we are faced with a physical assault. Protecting our self emotionally calls for more. Some people use to avoid uncomfortable situations by metaphorically "shielding their self", and even though this mode of protection has become somewhat comfortable for them, the accompanying feelings of anger, anxiety, and repression are far from healthy. By dismantling that wall of emotional protection, we’ll start building a healthy bridge to the people and situations that we truly want in our life!

Dialogue with shadows
The antithesis of the strict framework and the organic forms depict our social behavior, our sentiments though our real self.
This work is a dialogue and an exploration of one’s personal shadow.
Shadow is a psychological term for everything we can’t see in ourselves. From our early age we adjust our behavior to gratify our needs and learn to adapt to the external world. As we grow up we condition ourselves to keep all the unaccepted parts of us outside our conscious awareness, though, we drag them ‘behind us’ all the time in our subconscious.
This repression of unwanted parts creates what psychologist Carl Jung called the personal shadow. ‘There is no light without shadow and no psychic wholeness without imperfection’ *

* Jung, C.G. (1968). Psychology and Alchemy, Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 12, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press

SHADOWS collection, 2016.
The embodiment of a fantasy world populated with shadows, exotic birds, grotesque demons and fairies, an exploration of the aesthetic and literary values of such creatures and the real and symbolic nature of the shadow as an image and a figure.
We are aware of a tiny fraction of the thinking process that goes on in our minds, and we can control only a tiny part of our conscious thoughts. The vast majority of our thinking efforts go on subconsciously.
Thoughts like birds will always hover high in the sky but
is our responsibility to prevent the ‘birds’ from landing in our minds. Those creatures become symbolic statements and represent obsessions, our ideas and fears or projections of our subconscious. Based on this approach, they are merely symbolic representations of human psychological states.

MEMORIES collection, 2015.
As a visual artist, I transfer onto my work pictures, stimuli and sentiments, through numerous sketches, colors and forms. This material comprises the basis of my latest jewelry series, which stems from my personal memories, deals with the density of the substance.
Paper stripes, in dense or attenuated layers, create forms of multiple colors. Then, bonded and attached to silver become symbols. Symbols of past imprints and memories that have lost their actuality, since time and personal renderings - feelings, subjective readings, even mind distortions - transforms them into something open to interpretation.

Pierce the Veil collection, 2018.
Joya Barcelona 2018 represented by Popeye Loves Olive Gallery
This work is an investigation of possibilities and relationships between materials, textures and colors.

Rooms of the Mind, 2019
The brain controls all functions of the body, interprets information from the outside world through our senses, filtered by our sentiments and experiences, and embodies the essence of the mind and soul.
In this work series, I am exploring my own interpretations by creating ‘Rooms of the Mind’, in boxes of various shapes drawing out my thoughts, experiences and memories.

GAMES of the MIND, 2020-21
Focused on the ceiling, counting, again and again, the colorful wooden and metal tiles, trying to find some logic in their composition…The mind is empty, just numbers and shapes. -2 Basement, it is cold down here…
They say time heals all wounds, that we learn more from pain than from pleasure. That we come out stronger from a fight and that only the scars on the body remain…
Is recovering from a disease just about our body or about healing our mind?
Did I win or I am defeated? The only thing I know is this: I am full of wounds and still standing on my feet. / Nikos Kazantzakis

Desires collection, 2024
We live in a world that constantly reminds us that social acceptance has its rules. Everyone has to follow the established uniformity, complying with social rules, irrational standards and vague prejudices. Striving to be ‘politically correct’, every person, somewhere, somehow, sometime will become a victim of negative comparison, will encounter racism against him/her, will feel the social burden and danger against them, and will need to just deal with it. Therefore we instinctively create physical distance from others and objects to prepare ourselves for defensive responses to potentially harmful stimuli. Let us find the courage to be ourselves, instead of trying to be the person others want us to be. Temperaments, skills, mindsets and desires consistently differentiate one person from another. Societies with an open structure are fruitful, where diversity is not just tolerated but welcomed and encouraged.

CV      View / hide description

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Events      View / hide events

2024:
Exhibition  04 Oct 2024 - 30 Nov 2024  (Un)Avowable Secrets in Madrid.
Exhibition  07 Sep 2024 - 31 Oct 2024  AGCpunto24. Contemporary Stories in Tarragona.
Exhibition  06 Jul 2024 - 13 Jul 2024  AGCpunto24. Contemporary Stories.
Exhibition  02 May 2024 - 05 May 2024  (Un)Avowable Secrets at Jewellery Week of Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Exhibition  28 Feb 2024 - 02 Mar 2024  (Un)Avowable Secrets.
2023:
Exhibition  05 Oct 2023 - 20 Nov 2023  Missing Memories in Madrid.
Exhibition  28 Sep 2023 - 30 Sep 2023  Missing Memories in Barcelona.
Exhibition  26 Sep 2023 - 13 Oct 2023  Devotional Jewellery in Barcelona.
Exhibition  23 Jun 2023 - 25 Jul 2023  Anatomy of Decisions.
Exhibition  10 Jun 2023 - 05 Nov 2023  DNA in Cagnes sur Mer.
Exhibition  07 Jun 2023 - 20 Oct 2023  A History of Revolutions: Greek Cultural Heritage Inspires Contemporary Artistic Design.
This exhibition presents the recent work of 31 esteemed Greek and International artists, 5 instructors and 28 students from Greek public silversmithing institutes, inspired by heirlooms of the Greek cultural heritage. Starting point for inspiration are artifacts displayed in the recent exhibition at the ILJMuseum “Form Follows Function 200+200” *. The historic reminiscent of the 1821 revolution becomes the vehicle for a new interpretation of jewelry, sculptures and other decorative arts.
In this exhibition contemporary creators are empowered with the dynamism of the Greek revolution of 1821, chose artifacts, and recreate them reflecting both the historic events and contemporary social issues of repression. The original objects of material culture are not just a source of inspiration for new creations. They trigger a personal, inner search and artistic expression. An imaginative journey through history and tradition which leads to the discovery of new forms, drawing from the totality of culture expressed in a defining period for Greece and the world.
Exhibition  27 Apr 2023 - 29 Apr 2023  Missing Memories at the Melting Point 2023.
Exhibition  09 Mar 2023 - 11 Mar 2023  Battle of the Pins in Munich.
Exhibition  08 Mar 2023 - 11 Mar 2023  Missing Memories in Munich 2023.
2022:
Exhibition  26 Nov 2022 - 07 Jan 2023  Battle of the Pins.
Exhibition  25 Nov 2022 - 16 Feb 2023  Devotional Jewellery.
Exhibition  12 Nov 2022 - 31 Dec 2022  Tincal lab Challenge 2022. Jewelry and Literature.
Exhibition  27 Oct 2022 - 29 May 2023  Bijoux d'Europe at Cagnes sur Mer.
Exhibition  19 Mar 2022 - 30 Apr 2022  Beauty and Wonder, jewelry in Porto.
2021:
Exhibition  20 Dec 2021 - 11 Feb 2022  Until Death Do Us Part.
Exhibition  12 Nov 2021 - 15 Dec 2021  Beauty and Wonder, Jewelry in Madrid.
Exhibition  12 Oct 2021 - 16 Oct 2021  AGC Contemporary Jewelry Association at Roma Jewelry Week.
Exhibition  08 Oct 2021 - 10 Nov 2021  Painful Hope in Madrid.
Exhibition  28 Aug 2021 - 02 Oct 2021  Beauty and Wonder, Jewelry in Neuchâtel.
Exhibition  22 May 2021 - 03 Jul 2021  Beauty and Wonder, jewelry.
2020:
Exhibition  12 Dec 2020 - 13 Feb 2021  Painful Hope.
Fair  10 Nov 2020 - 15 Nov 2020  Athens Jewelry Week 2020.
Exhibition  12 Mar 2020 - 15 Mar 2020  Polyphonous 2020: #streetview by Popeye loves Olive.
Exhibition  11 Mar 2020 - 14 Mar 2020  Broken Beauty in Munich.
2019:
Exhibition  14 Dec 2019 - 15 Feb 2020  Broken Beauty.
Exhibition  07 Nov 2019 - 03 Jan 2020  Connections/Connessioni.
Exhibition  24 May 2019 - 27 May 2019  Unveiled Sentiments by Yiota Vogli.
Exhibition  18 May 2019 - 06 Oct 2019  The Legacy Award & Collection. The Ultimate Edition.
Meeting  21 Mar 2019 - 21 Mar 2019  Aria di Primavera: Artistic & gastronomic dinner.
Exhibition  13 Mar 2019 - 17 Mar 2019  JOYA Barcelona at Handwerk & Design 2019 in Munich.
Exhibition  13 Mar 2019 - 16 Mar 2019  Heart Failure in Munich.
2018:
Exhibition  14 Dec 2018 - 23 Feb 2019  Heart Failure.
Exhibition  22 Sep 2018 - 31 Oct 2018  Collectiva Meeting.
Exhibition  20 Sep 2018 - 11 Nov 2018  Gioielli in Fermento in Padua.
Exhibition  07 Sep 2018 - 21 Sep 2018  Gioielli in Fermento: Un bel Panorama.
Fair  23 May 2018 - 30 May 2018  Athens Jewelry Week 2018.
Exhibition  21 May 2018 - 05 Jun 2018  The After Joya Effect V.
Award  13 May 2018 - 28 May 2018  Gioielli in Fermento Award 2018 8th edition.
Exhibition  13 May 2018 - 27 May 2018  Gioielli in Fermento 2018 Exhibition.
Exhibition  03 May 2018 - 25 Jul 2018  A flor de pell 2018.
Exhibition  26 Apr 2018 - 28 Apr 2018  Chaos in Valencia.
Meeting  26 Apr 2018 - 29 Apr 2018  Melting Point 2018.
Exhibition  26 Apr 2018 - 29 Apr 2018  Hidden Curriculum at Melting Point.
Exhibition  08 Mar 2018 - 11 Mar 2018  Hidden Curriculum.
Exhibition  07 Mar 2018 - 10 Mar 2018  Chaos in Munich.
2017:
Exhibition  16 Dec 2017 - 24 Feb 2018  Chaos in Lille.
Exhibition  05 Oct 2017 - 07 Oct 2017  Selected Artists JOYA Barcelona Art Jewellery Fair 2017.
Exhibition  05 Jun 2017 - 16 Jun 2017  7 artists for 7 days 2017.
Fair  18 May 2017 - 21 May 2017  Athens Jewelry Week 2017.
Exhibition  18 May 2017 - 06 Jun 2017  The After Joya Effect IV.
Exhibition  18 May 2017 - 21 May 2017  Art + Jewelry. Intersecting Spaces.
Exhibition  15 Feb 2017 - 31 Dec 2017  Impressions 2017. The Permanent.
2016:
Fair  29 Sep 2016 - 01 Oct 2016  JOYA Barcelona Art Jewellery Fair 2016.
Exhibition  06 Feb 2016 - 31 Dec 2016  Impressions 2016. The Permanent.
2015:
Fair  08 Oct 2015 - 10 Oct 2015  JOYA Barcelona Art Jewellery Fair 2015.

Publications      View / hide publications

Book:  Growth & Evolution International Jewellery Exhibition. Sun, HermanChina Modern Publishing House Limited:  Hong Kong,  2020
Book:  New Brooches: 400+ Contemporary Jewellery Designs. Estrada, NicolasPromopress:  Barcelona,  2018
Book:  JOYA 2016 Catalogue. Le DepartementLe Departement:  Barcelona,  2016
Book:  Jewelry Object Design. Vogli, YiotaGreek Ministry of Education.:  2004
Yiota Vogli is the co-author
Book:  Jewelry Design. Vogli, YiotaGreek Ministry of Education.:  2002
Yiota Vogli is the co-author