Sacred Lineage: The Altar of 11/11
Artist: SAINT KYRIAKI (Katie Elizabeth Chonacas)
Medium: 3D mixed-media assemblage including authentic Greek ceramic tiles,
preserved Palm Sunday crosses, white Chanel ribbon, personal heirloom jewelry,
and digital archival portrait photograph on premium stretched canvas
Curatorial Description
Crafted in her Los Angeles studio, Sacred Lineage: The Altar of 11/11 is a
monumentally scaled 24x24 mixed-media masterpiece that elevates private
memories into an eternal, living mythology. Functioning simultaneously as a
contemporary artifact, a personal home sanctuary, and a visual altar, the work
physically binds elements of faith, culture, girlhood, and personal evolution
directly into its heavy-textured surface.
The canvas is split by a bold blue and white geometry that nods to the brilliant
horizons of Greece. It is anchored by authentic, deep blue and white ceramic
house-number tiles brought back directly from the homeland—cemented into the
surface like roots holding strong against time. This foundational sense of heritage
is woven together by delicate, white Chanel ribbons collected over the years,
marrying high luxury with raw, gritty lineage. Across the canvas, the artist has
raised sacred palm crosses from past Palm Sundays into a new, higher
devotional frame. These tokens of reverence were painstakingly saved in bags
across decades by her mother and gifted to the artist to be permanently
immortalized in paint, cement, and spirit.
Emerging from the bottom-right corner through layers of color and chaos is the
artist’s own face—captured in a striking photoshoot with her dear friend and
photographer, Carlos Arguello. Her gaze serves as a silent, powerful witness to
the divine elements found within a deeply lived human experience. Embellished
with transformed teenage jewels—including a lucky star ring and a heavy cross
pendant that once protected her youth—and honoring the repeating "1" tiles and
Greek key patterns representing her 11/11 birthday and eternity, this 1-of-1
physical assemblage stands as an extraordinary artifact of creative alchemy,
cultural resurrection, and sheer devotional power.
Item Details
• Original Artwork: 1-of-1 three-dimensional physical assemblage. Signed
by the artist.
• Canvas Dimensions: 24" × 24" (61.0 cm × 61.0 cm) gallery-wrapped
heavy stretched canvas.
• Surface Composition: Authentic Greek earthenware ceramics, textiles,
metallic jewelry artifacts, pigment paint, and mixed adhesive cement.
