CULTURE

Small gifts for a festive season available at DESTE Foundation

In the spirit of the upcoming festive season, the Artstore of the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art is currently offering a selection of colorful and, sometimes, witty gifts, created by Greek and foreign artists. The Small Gifts – Great Wishes collection of items will be on display until January 12. In the Artstore this year, the season’s principal material for Christmas decorations is wood: Penguins and snowmen are ready to keep you company, while Santa Claus frames will be much in demand. For the Christmas tree, you may choose wooden teddy bears or more traditional angels. Also at the Artstore, Christina Moira’s thoughtful notebooks feature sequins and messages, while Toby Pimlico’s printed mugs offer preliminary resolutions for next year, such as I Will Be President, or suggest evenings of hot chocolate with phrases such as The Joy of Staying in Bed. For the season’s calorie-watchers, you may choose from a selection of scales, including frog- or heart-shaped ones. Further down on the gift list comes a touch of technology with a series of religious-oriented mouse pads, ranging from the Virgin Mary to Buddhas, angels and totems. If you’re looking to make life easier for a loved one, take a look at the hip, metal device which offers currency exchange in euros, while the season’s parties will be cooler with short drink glasses, featuring messages such as Full-Empty or Double Vision. The Artstore is also showcasing a collection of lights, ranging from Sugar Line Production’s playful, plastic items to Nikomachi Karakostanoglou’s small objects d’art called spiritual gardens. The season also calls for the increased use of candles: Marmyan presents a series of dice-shaped ones for good luck, while Nina Papaioannou suggests a winning combination of chocolate and vanilla-flavored items. No Christmas is complete without cards for the season’s greetings. At the Artstore these range from cinematic images from the 1950s, featuring popular couples, to 3D images from the 1970s, as well as those illustrated with postmodern comic figures.

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