TANCREDI DI CARCACI
Siren sculpture commissioned for Material Witnesses exhibition
The ACG/Demos Center, 17 Ipitou St., Plaka, Athens, 105 57
Monday 14 July- Thursday 31 July | Monday 1 September- Saturday 27 September
Opening Hours: Monday- Friday, 15:00-19:00, Saturday, 12:00-18:00
Curated by Tamara Chalabi
Tancredi di Carcaci works primarily in ceramic, stone and bronze to interrogate the enduring power of ancient symbols in a contemporary world. His practice is steeped in classical mythology, Renaissance artistry, and sacred iconography, examining the tension between material form and spiritual longing. He also explores idolatry as a lens through which to explore humanity’s relationship to belief.
Through a combination of figurative and abstract elements, Carcaci creates works that revive traditional crafts (lost wax casting, stone carving) to address modern concerns. His work invites viewers to contemplate and confront elemental questions about devotion, desire, and the myths that shape us, whether rooted in antiquity or the present.
The sculpture Siren draws from the mythical creature’s dual symbolism. They are a metaphor for the dangers of temptation, lust, and the allure of false promises that can lead to ruin. Carcaci renders this liminal figure through a fusion of classical technique and contemporary fragmentation. The siren’s traditional form (part woman, part bird or fish) is reimagined in stone, its surface bearing the traces of laborious craftsmanship, as if excavated from time itself.
Carcaci’s reverence for Renaissance art and Greco-Roman myth is palpable, yet his approach transcends mere homage. By mimicking ancient techniques and ideas, he interrogates why these symbols still resonate, showing how they are mirrors to our own struggles with temptation, transcendence, and the sacred. In Siren, as in all his works, the divine is not distant but immanent, etched into the very materials that comprise our world.
