A New Creative Dialogue: Première Fraîcheur at Artisanal

Artisanal and chef Giannis Parikos, in collaboration with artist and curator Poka-Yio, inaugurate the exhibition series Première Fraîcheur, a format that approaches the restaurant as a space for creative production and experience.

The title of the series draws from the language of haute cuisine, where it refers to the moment when seasonal ingredients first appear. In Première Fraîcheur, this reference functions metaphorically: the exhibitions focus on artistic practices in progress, at a stage where form has not yet solidified and the process remains visible. It is a program dedicated to showcasing creators in the early stages of their careers, where the work retains its fluidity and immediacy.

Here, gastronomy and visual art operate collaboratively as two forms of production that share the same space, activating an experience that is both sensory and conceptual. The shared aim of Giannis Parikos and Poka-Yio is to broaden access to both contemporary art and gastronomy through the creation of an open and dynamic environment.

The first exhibition, Première Fraîcheur 1: Yorgos Stamatelos, presents the work of Yorgos Stamatelos, a young painter and ceramic artist.

Stamatelos employs a rich and explosive visual language. Influenced by street art and its gestures, he develops a painting practice with strong performative qualities. In his works, stains and forms intertwine across canvases made from advertising banners and packaging materials, activating a continuous recycling of matter and meaning. His practice draws from the semiotic density of the urban landscape, which he processes through a raw, almost automatic mark-making. The result is a series of abstract fields that bear traces of human action, maintaining the intensity and immediacy of gesture.

Yorgos Stamatelos was born in 2003 in Athens and is currently a student at LAB12 at the Athens School of Fine Arts. Alongside his artistic practice, he works professionally as a cook and develops collective artistic actions.