On Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 12:00, Sianti Gallery, in collaboration with the Your Pet company, proudly presents a group exhibition under the title “Art Your Pet”. It includes works created by 36 different artists which are dedicated to our little pet friends. The idea of the exhibition was conceived by Thodoris Siantis and Eugenia Samara, cofounders of the Your Pet company. Your Pet is the first Greek application – and You Tube channel – offering help in cases of pet disappearances and adoptions and is already counting 20.000 members since its launch in September, 2021. Art Your Pet is an exhibition of charitable character since most of the revenues will be donated to the Animal Welfare Association of Megara “ZEM RESCUE”.

As it is broadly known, animals – whether used as symbols, “ornamental features”, mythical or divine creatures, tokens of the close relationship between man and animal, or simply as a favorite artistic theme – have always had a prominent position in artistic expression, from the prehistoric age until now. They have adorned and continue to do so – rocks, walls, ceilings, temples, paintings, even human bodies, in various depictive ways, with a tremendous variety of color, through the prism of each artist’s personal sensitivity and each historical era’s special traits.

As Manos Stefanidis, art historian and curator of the exhibition, states: “Art Your Pet. I think it is very important to keep reminding everyone around us of the great debt we, the so-called ‘rational’ beings, owe to the rest of the planet’s animal kingdom which we often refer to as ‘irrational’. For we must never forget that most of the highest human qualities, such as sensitivity, unselfishness or devotion are more evident in the animal world. It is very sad, but also very true, that man, primarily through his technological civilization, represents a grave and escalating danger for our planet, threatening most of the Earth’s fauna and flora with extinction. The Sianti Gallery and Your Pet must, therefore, be commented on their effort to co organize an exhibition of paintings, sculptures, installations and video art centered around our pet friends. Our friends which are undoubtedly our victims, as well. But what about us? This is precisely why we need Art, the highest and foremost expression of human civilization. We need it to sensitize and motivate us. To make us a bit more human. In the same ways our relationship with animals makes us a bit more human”.

In the end of the day, no matter how strange our times may be, we ought to be grateful for the fact that animals are willing to put up with all of our peculiarities, to stand by our side in our darkest moments, always ready to comfort and love us. For we should acknowledge that animals are all that is left of a Paradise lost. And the love that we show them always comes back to us a million times stronger, though in a different form.

Artists: Christos Antonaropoulos, Stathis Alexopoulos, Arkas, Yiakou, Leonidas Giannakopoulos, Gagik Altounian, Katerina Dimitriadou, Irini Kana, Christos Kanas, Michalis Kountouris, Kostas Lavdas, Minas, Lila Belivanaki, Dimitris Mytaras, Kostas Dios, Syni Papagianni, Thodoros Papagiannis, Vivi Papadimitriou, Christina Papaioannou, Achilleas Pistonis, Thodoris Raftopoulos, Christos Sarakatsianos,  Vasilis Selimas, Panagiotis Siagris, Agelos Spartalis, Kostas Spiriounis, Giorgos Stathopoulos, Ariadni Stefanidou, Maira Stefou, Konstantinos Tolis, Maritasa Tsiblaki, Alekos Fasianos, Sofia Fotiadou, Apostolos Chantzaras, Manolis Charos, Thodoris Chrisikos