Excerpt from the exhibition essay, Tongue and Groove, by curator Jon Davies:
“For several years Partheniou has been developing her practice on an intimate scale, working with objects that not only are close at hand but also fit in the palm of the hand. House & Home & Garden, Partheniou’s first solo museum exhibition, at Oakville Galleries in Gairloch Gardens, reflects the galleries’ former life as a 1920s estate house, as she takes on the scale of entire rooms for the first time. Gairloch was once a private dwelling and was retrofitted into a public art museum. Inspired by its domestic origins, Partheniou transformed the Gairloch estate house into a fictional construction site — a home in transition between a space of leisure and labour, comfort and chaos.”
Acrylic on dowel, acrylic paint and screenprint on MDF, pine studs, plywood, drywall, plastic sheeting, bulb
"In Gairloch’s Central Gallery, Partheniou has built a cell-like enclosure that serves to constrict the space considerably. Her faux-renovation obscures many of the gallery’s existing ornamental details and blocks out most of the windows and their view onto the lake and gardens. This room-within-a-room is suspended mid-construction, with studs, insulation foam and pipes exposed."
Edition of 5
Acrylic on wood
Acrylic on dowel, acrylic and screenprint on MDF, pine studs
Varied edition
Acrylic on wood
"In the largest room of Gairloch Gardens, Partheniou presents a spare installation of quotidian objects. On the mantelpiece, simplified black-and-white forms evoke a scene drained of colour, while light sconces affixed to the wall suggest absent, once-illuminated furnishings. Wood has been hewn by the artist both into a pile of firewood and, amusingly, a set of fireplace tools. On the radiator, an abandoned pop can draws our attention through the windows to a half-built addition: a room containing a stack of orphaned junk."
Varnished assorted wood
Varnished cherry wood
acrylic on wood
acrylic on wood
acrylic on wood
acrylic on wood
Acrylic paint and screenprint on MDF, plywood, drywall, door, bulb.
Addition is a 5th room that is built off of the main gallery using a combination of real and replicated construction materials. It is viewable only through the large bay window at the end of the main room; the door to the left implies that it is connected to other parts of the home that are likewise inaccessible to the visitor.
Varied edtion
Enamel paint on wood
Graphite on pine
Acrylic on wood and MDF, acrylic and flocking on foam, plastic tube
Acrylic on wood and MDF, acrylic and flocking on foam, plastic tube
Acrylic and Screenprint on MDF, Enamel on Wood, plywood
Varnished pine, acrylic on MDF
acrylic on MDF
Acrylic paint on wood
Acrylic paint on wood
Varnished MDF
Varied edition of 2
Acrylic paint on wood
The motif for the vent was taken from an existing radiator cover in the Central Gallery, that has been hidden by the construction for Extension.
Acrylic and screenprint on MDF
"In the South Gallery, Partheniou has gathered renovation materials for the work underway elsewhere in the house. Wood, insulation, paint supplies, and light bulbs await future use, while a scattering of doorstops and packing boxes linger in corners of the room."
Acrylic paint on wood and wall
Acrylic paint on wood and wall
Acrylic paint and screenprint on MDF, enamel on dowel; Acrylic paint on wood, enamel on dowel
Acrylic paint on wood
Acrylic paint and screenprint on MDF, enamel on dowel
"In the South Gallery, Partheniou has gathered renovation materials for the work underway elsewhere in the house. Wood, insulation, paint supplies, and light bulbs await future use, while a scattering of doorstops and packing boxes linger in corners of the room."
Acrylic paint on MDF
Acrylic on wood
"Partheniou has transformed the south-facing Salah Bachir Room into a space somewhere between a cellar, a garage and a pantry. The room contains an unusually tidy pile of lumber and a set of similarly ambiguous storage shelves—where every jar, bottle and box recalls a familiar household tool or consumable."
Acrylic on wood and MDF, pine shelf
Acrylic on wood and MDF, pine shelf
Acrylic on wood and MDF, pine shelf
Acrylic on wood and MDF, pine shelf
Acrylic on wood and MDF, pine shelf
Acrylic on wood and MDF, pine shelf
Acrylic on wood and MDF, pine shelf
Acrylic on wood
Assorted Dowels, metal brackets
Graphite on pine
Graphite on pine