Raw Objects by Theodore Psychoyos.

Theodore Psychoyos has debuted a new collection of functional objects at Carwan Gallery in Athens. Dubbed Raw Objects, the exhibition is just the beginning of ongoing exploration for the visual artist who was inspired by natural elements and the forms of unprocessed stone scattered around his island home of Naxos.

To create the pieces in the collection, Psychoyos uses found pieces of marble that have been abandoned in warehouses and quarries, that bear the marks of the human hand, machinery, and the elements. These randomly cut and shaped stone fragments the artist selects for their shape and texture, and then reimagines as furniture, giving new life to ancient stones that have lain unused for decades. Because they’re so old, most of these marbles are very rare and impossible to find on the market otherwise.

While Psychoyos’ drawings are meticulously detailed and their outlines are clean, his furniture is contrastingly polished as little as possible: the forms and textures of the stones are left to a great extent as they were found, imbuing them with an intense haptic feeling and preserving the intricate weathered patterns and imperfections on their surface. In some cases, the stone fragments are combined with small rubber elements for stability and comfort.

The result is austere, yet honest—an interpretation of functional objects by a spirited visual artist, where tactile sculptural landscapes are brought to an extreme proximity to the body.

Following Psychoyos’ preview during Athens Design Forum in 2021, Carwan Gallery is now presenting the artist’s first formal excursion into the world of functional objects. The exhibition Raw Objects is the second chapter in Carwan Gallery’s series of Greek special commissions, as part of its program to support Greek artists and designers. For more info, head to carwangallery.com.

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[Photography by Giorgos Sfakianakis & Michel Sedan.]