Richard Long

The British artist Richard Long has installed his work 'Athens Slate Line' in the Greek capital. It is a recreation of his installation from 1984 which is now shown to the public for the first time and is positioned leading up to the shrine of Dionysos Eleuthereus on the South Slope of the Acropolis of Athens.

Richard Long's work moves in the fields of Land Art and Concept Art, without it being possible to assign it clearly and exclusively to either category. In addition to their self-referential existence, his works are at the same time parts of a documentation of an event that must be regarded with equal justification as an element of the artwork.

Furthermore the act of walking is a main aspect of Long’s work and therefore the installation functions as an imaginary continuation of the route which goes up the hill of the Acropolis to the Sanctuary of Athena.

In our latest publication 'Sculptures' you can find the installation 'Georgia Granite Line' from 1990, where the artists interest in stones and especially its material play a crucial role. Long arranged the completely raw quarry stones in a line several meters long, in which the roughness of the individual stones contrasts with the obvious geometric, artificial order created by man. This setting, and in particular the moment of the artist's setting, immortalises a completely contemporary artistic act, whose meditative character can be recalled by the viewer at any time.