Visitors to the gallery of the De Pree Art Center at Hope College will travel to a new yet ancient world through the exhibition “Eames Demetrios: Words and Worlds of Kcymaerxthaere,” opening on Friday, Feb. 27, and continuing through Sunday, March 29.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Demetrios, an artist and filmmaker, will give an artist’s talk on Friday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m. in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall. Following the talk, there will be an opening reception in the gallery from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The public is invited is invited to the talk, reception and exhibition. Admission is free.
Demetrios has been traveling the globe installing markers and historic sites which honor events from a parallel world he calls Kcymaerxthaere. The story of Kcymaerxthaere unfolds through the installations, like a novel in which every page is in a different city across the earth. The project is now in its 11th year, and there are currently 104 markers and historic sites in 22 countries on six continents.
Demetrios’ role within Kcymaerxthaere is to serve as an ambassador to another land and time. For those encountering the world through the work, the experience might be akin to contemplating ancient Egypt through a visit to the pyramids, or experiencing the tunnels of Paris.
“Kcymaerxthaere gives us clues to a long forgotten society in a non-linear world where we are tourists in a strange land,” said Kristin L. Underhill, who is co-curating the exhibition and is office manager for the Department of Art and a senior art history major at the college. “Each marker is tied to longitude and latitude coordinates and while some are easily accessible to the residents of the linear world, some can only be visited by extreme travel experiences or perhaps not at all, lending to the mystery of the realm of Kcymaerxthaere.”
“The stories in Kcymaerxthaere inspire the audiences that visit it however briefly,” she said. “For example women in Namibia have stitched images onto beautifully colorful tapestries of a seven-legged Gnacien and the story of Eliala Mei-Ning, whose voice was too beautiful to be concealed and she traveled the world being chased through the different dimensions by the Puhnee.”
In the exhibition at Hope, mysterious postcards will continue the story and two large stone monuments will reveal more of Kcymaerxthaere that can be viewed up close before being placed someplace on linear earth.
Demetrios also explores film and art, and preserves the design legacy of Charles and Ray Eames as director of the Eames Office and chairman of the Board of the Eames Foundation. He lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife and two sons.
The De Pree Art Center is located at 160 E. 12th St., on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street; and Graves Hall is located at 263 College Ave., between 10th and 12th streets. Both buildings are handicapped-accessible.
The gallery is normally open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Because of the college’s spring break, the gallery will be closed from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, March 13; closed all day on Saturday-Sunday, March 14-15; closed from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday-Friday, March 16-20; and closed all day on Saturday-Sunday, March 21-22.