M HKA Ensembles

1932 - 1996

Died in Athens (GR), born in Athens (GR).

Bia Davou (1932 – 1996) studies painting at the atelier of Costas Iliadis (1952-1958). Initially she paints compositions which tend towards the style of Abstract Expressionism and Art Informel. From the early seventies on, she shows an interest in creating a new form of language communication based on the codes of science and technology.

In 1970 she exhibits a series of three-dimensional syntheses made from plastic materials, at the PR gallery in Athens. Consequently she turns to researching the diagrammatic structure of the image, reproducing computer programmes and codes via specific commands.  These commands give Davou the opportunity to develop her personal theory about the work of art, its social function and its communication potential.

In 1976, she participates in the show of the art group Processes - Systems at the Athens Art Gallery, where she presents electrical circuits on copper plates. Two years later, she presents her Serial Structures at Desmos gallery, a natural progression from her previous interests via which dots are organised according to sequences of Fibonacci numbers and binary language systems, having the ability to go on forever.

In 1981 she translates the rhythmic scheme of ‘The Odyssey’ into serial structures on white sails/canvases which comprise a parable of Odysseus’s journey. She thus inaugurates a series of presentations with sails which gradually develop more freely in space and transform from solid sails on stable bases, to suspended triangular pieces of lightly woven painted cloth. The sails are organised according to the space they are shown in.