This spring, Eli Saragoussi’s artwork is featured in three exhibits across Athens. Since the multimedia artist and musician arrived on the Athens art scene in November 2017, she has been creating non-stop. Her latest pieces utilize bold, graphic colors in intricately stitched together felt designs.

Saragoussi works with several mediums including embroidered felt, illustration and cardboard and masonite cutouts painted with tempera. She explains that her work on display in the “You Are Here” exhibit at the Gallery@HotelIndigo plays with seriousness and addresses accessibility in art.

Liz Solomon has witnessed Saragoussi’s artistry progress over the past five years. When the two met, Saragoussi was making her own clothes and costumes for a few of the different bands she was playing in. Now, Saragoussi’s work is being featured in the 44th Lyndon House juried show, the Southworks Exhibition at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation and the “You Are Here” exhibit.

“She is a very strong illustrator but I think illustration alone isn’t tactile enough for her. So, through felt she has found a way to take her illustrative style and represent it more three-dimensionally. I think that has been really interesting,” said Solomon.

Eli Saragoussi discussed her work, her inspiration and the challenges she faces at the Gallery@HotelIndigo.  

How did you prepare for the Gallery@HotelIndigo Exhibit?

Well, honestly, when I first moved to Athens it was sort of the first time that I decided to buckle down and develop a body of work. So, I started doing a lot of felt work and kind of honed in a lot of the illustration work that I’ve been doing. I’m starting to discover recurring themes and what I’m interested in creating aesthetically.

What themes do your pieces in the “You Are Here” exhibit explore?

Well, recently I am starting to think a lot about accessibility through art and functionality through art. I think that especially with the felt work I am drawn to stuff that is physical, tactical, has texture and is playful and colorful. I like to think that my work is really accessible in the sense that people of all ages and of all backgrounds can relate to it in some way or another. I’m also exploring the idea that because it is art that’s hung in a gallery and it is not functional or fashion, it is kind of lonely and I think that is certainly a recurring theme in all of my art. I can relate to that as a human, just being friendly and accessible and willing to talk to other people and interact with them but I also have so many doubts and so many little bits of emptiness that I think most people experience. So, I think in my work the pieces stand alone but they are part of a bigger theme.

How does color contribute to your work?

I love colors. I love primary colors. I like bold, graphic colors and I think I’ve just always been that way. I like the playfulness of it and I like how childlike it is. I love children’s toys and children’s clothing, there’s just something kind of humorous and jarring about it that I’m really drawn to.

What are the challenges you experience as an artist?

You know, I just wish that I was maybe selling more art or, you know, a little bit more successful than I am and I think I’ve experienced that all throughout my life. So it’s really hard to just stick with it and continue creating stuff without the intention of like ‘I’m doing this because I’m going to reach this finish line where I’m going to be famous or something,’  that’s not what I’m trying to do. But, sometimes it’s hard when it feels really thankless.

How does your role as an artist contribute to your role as a musician and vice versa?

They kind of go hand in hand because sometimes I’m making art for my band and sometimes I’m making visual art. It’s really fun as a musician because it is so multi-dimensional in that I not only play music and write songs but I also design T-shirts and buttons and I get to incorporate my art within those projects as well. So, I think both of them kind of fuel each other and I think I get inspiration from both things and they push me forward.

“I think her pieces are very interesting. They are unique. They are definitely abstract and unlike anything I have seen before. She combines colors that I wouldn’t typically expect to be combined and the use of felt is pretty cool,” said a viewer of Saragoussi’s work in the “You Are Here” exhibit.