"Life without tragedy" on Governors Island

Onassis USA is pleased to announce that celebrated artist Kostis Velonis’s large-scale sculptural work "Life Without Tragedy" has now been installed on Governors Island, where it will remain on view, free of charge, from May 2 to October 31, 2019. "Life Without Tragedy", developed with architect Christian Kotzamanis and initially created for the acclaimed Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming (during which it could be seen on Astor Place, April 10-30, free of charge), explores the intersection of democracy and theater—perhaps Greece’s two greatest contributions. The work consists of three wood sculptures that mimic an ancient Greek amphitheater, a place that was a social institution and a site for political discourse as well as a venue for art.

The Greek amphitheater is a phenomenon and physical space rich with political, democratic import. Theatrical performances were, in Athenian democracy, deeply rooted in the polity and its institutions. The actors and members of the chorus were citizens, and a gathering in the theater functioned as an ecclesia (an assembly of the citizens). The theater, although it was established during the period of the tyrants, became a site of democracy, as it flourished in parallel with the democratic system of government. Democracy liberated ancient Greek tragedy from its religious nature, giving it a more anthropocentric and political character. And within the theater, Athenians participated in dialogue and debate about ideas.

"Life Without Tragedy" exemplifies Onassis USA’s evolution into a formidable contemporary producer and presenter of arts-and-ideas programs that substantially contribute to timely national and international conversations. The organization has explored democracy in recent programming include Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming, presented with The Public Theater; Onassis Festival 2018: "The Birds", a festival inspired by Aristophanes; the Speaking Truth to Power series in collaboration with the Brooklyn Academy of Music; and the 2018 revival of The Gospel at Colonus, the Lee Breuer / Bob Telson landmark, at the Delacorte Theater, in collaboration with The Public Theater. "Life Without Tragedy" will be on view every day during the 2019 season at Picnic Point, located on the Island’s southern tip. Governors Island is open every day from May 1 through October 31.

Kostis Velonis (born 1968) is an artist known for exploring the dystopia of unrealized Modernist and avant-garde projects. His sculptures, paintings, and large-scale installations are best characterized as craft-based compositions that construct allegories from the complex relations of history, class, identity, and the conflicts of the human soul. Velonis holds an MRes in Humanities and Cultural Studies from London Consortium (Birkbeck College, ICA, AA, Tate). He studied Arts Plastiques/Esthétiques at Université Paris 8 (D.E.A) and he earned his PhD from the Department of Architecture, N.T.U.A University of Athens.