Bio
Despina Myriokefalitaki-Zografos was born and raised in Crete,Greece and moved to New York in 2010 where she currently lives and works.
She is a visual artist working in hand cut paper, painting, cyanotype, video, photography and print making. Despina (gained) earned her Msc in Art Therapy from Queen MargaretUniversity in Edinburgh, Scotland and her BFA from Athens School of Fine Arts,Athens, Greece. Erasmus program offer Despina the opportunity to stay inLisbon, Portugal, for six months and study at the audio-visual studio at the Faculdade de (Bellas) Belas Artes de Lisboa. In addition she studied graphic design at Art & Design College “Vacalo” in Athens and received her BAin French Language and Literature from National and Kapodistrian University in Athens.
Despina iscurrently a resident artist at the Art League of Long Island, NY and a mentee at New York Foundation (of) for the Arts (NYFA) Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program.
Awards include: 2ndplace: “The art of layering” NAWA,Honorable mention: “60th Long Island Artists Exhibition.”
Most recent group exhibitions include: “In/Between: Lush Friction”, New YorkLive Arts Lobby, NYC,“Long Island Biennial 2022”, Heckscher Museum of Art,Huntington, NY, “Wood and Paper”, WAH Center, Williamsbourgh, Brooklyn, “EXPO 42”, International JuriedCompetition, B.J.spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY. Despina exhibited her work at the Other Art Fair in Brooklyn (2021) and at the Global Virtual edition of theOther Art Fair (2022) both presented by Saatchi Art. Despina’s work has been featured at WomenUnited Art Magazine, Suboart Magazine, NAWA’s online Magazine and in NAWA’s monthly series “Art in Conversation with Farrin”.
Statement
Complex geometric patterns found in lace, crochet and embroidery are part of my vivid memories from my childhood in Crete. These craft/female practices called “ergohera” meaning “works of the hands”, are common among members of my family and inform my work.
“Strolleroptera” series is about the transformative experience of motherhood. It is a word that I created pursuant to “Lepidoptera”, an order of insects that includes butterflies. Composed by the English word “stroller” and the word “ptera” meaning “wings” in Greek,
"Strolleroptera" combines the two languages that I speak in my daily life. To create these works, I took one photograph of a long intriguing shadow that I captured as I pushed my twins’ stroller in the afternoon sun. By mirroring the image, I transformed it into a butterfly shape. Transformation, connections, shadow and light are themes that I explore in my artistic practice. Repetition of a single motif in a geometric, symmetric composition or radial design is also part of my experimentation.
Paper cutting is a laborious and meditative process and is how I transform the paper into a lace-like surface. In my artworks, the paper is delicately cut to create a complex web that embeds the butterfly into a unified design. My work is constructed in layers that I keep apart allowing the shadows created by the change of light to become a vital part of the artwork. The shadows visually mingle with the two layers creating a labyrinthine image and revealing kaleidoscopic forms of interconnected microcosms.
