“The city is my terrain. The power and authority that it radiates is both overwhelming and breathtaking. I am cautious. I avoid abrupt moves. I am just circling her. In the Sacred Shadows album one can see trapped images struggling to return to the cosmos and escape oblivion. Just like images from the Unconscious fighting for a life of their own. In Unborderville things turn out more edgy, pushing the limits harder. As if I’m trying to decide what to do with all I have and decide my next move.”

– Dimitra Lazaridou

C. Grimaldis Gallery is pleased to present Absence, an exhibition of selected works by Greek- photographer Dimitra Lazaridou. In an investigation of light and space, Lazaridou’s dialectic images build a conversation around the need to relate to the world. Seemingly stolid at first glance, these photographs become a respite for those navigating space, looking for structure and stability. This solo exhibition spans multiple series to showcase the breathe and liemotif of the artist’s practice.

With deep influence from the Bauhaus and her studies in Berlin, Lazaridou depicts urban landscapes that loom with nonattendance. These desolate spaces derive from the artist’s ability to inhabit the world as an introvert, stating “it is just me and light.” With light as her companion, Lazaridou examines the agony of shared psychology … survival, loneliness, wakeness … and the beauty of city space. Her images of timeless architecture, of cast shadows, and of blank facades become personified landscapes seeped with surrealism. Devoid of the figure, these images become isolated, inviting the outliers to come in and occupy.

Dimitra Lazaridou (b. 1966, Alexandroupolis, Greece) studied visual communications and photography at the Hoschule der Künste in Berlin, Germany. Her work is included in a number of public and private collections including the National Museum of Contemporary Art (Athens, Greece), the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography (Thessaloniki, Greece), the Weatherspoon Art Museum at University of North Carolina (Greensboro, NC), the Athenaeum Intercontinental Hotel (Athens, Greece), the Martin Z. Margulies Collection (Miami, FL), and the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD). Lazaridou recently completed a collaborative project with Dior which was presented in Dior Magazine No. 36 and Dior Cruise 2022. Lazaridou currently lives and works in Athens, Greece.

Absence will be on view at C. Grimaldis Gallery from April 20 through May 20, 2023. A reception will take place on Thursday, April 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. We are pledged to follow certain requirements for COVID-19 safety compliance and therefore masks are encouraged at this event. Hours for C. Grimaldis Gallery, which is free and open to the public, are Wednesday through Saturday, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.