ON FEBRUARY 1, the exhibition with works by the great master Michalis Economou, entitled “The Alchemy of Painting”, was inaugurated at the Theocharakis Foundation in the presence of the President of Greece, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. Konstantinos Tasoulas. The exhibition was successfully presented for the first time at the E. Averof Art Gallery, in Metsovo. The exhibition is held in Athens with the cooperation of the Evangelos Averof-Tositsa Foundation and the B&M Theocharakis Foundation.

One hundred and sixteen precious works of the leading painter Economou, who was born in 1884 in Piraeus and died at the Dromokaiteio hospital in 1933, at the age of 49, make up the exhibition, which has been curated by professor Afroditi Kouria. These are imaginative works, which directly reflect the deep desires of the painter himself, who emphasized: “I want to give feeling, as much feeling as I can…”. Thus, through his paintings, such as ‘The Red Mountain’, ‘The Citadel’, ‘The Church of Five Cypresses’, ‘Fishing House, Hydra’, but also ‘The Dreaming House’, ‘Martigues, House with a Red Awning’, ‘After the Rain’, intense sensations emerge.

As the president of the E. Averof-Tositsa Foundation and writer, Mrs. Tatiana Averof-Ioannou, has pointed out: “His works exert an unusual magic that often captivates the viewer, as we repeatedly observe in the Art Gallery in Metsovo. Economou is a painter who is loved by young and old, by artists, experts or simple excursionists. It is no coincidence, after all, that his painting ‘The Dreaming House’ was one of Evangelos Averof’s special loves. I remember, many years ago, the work resting on a chair in the dining room of our house, as my father used to make his final decision on whether to include a work in the collection he intended for Metsovo. So, for two or three days, we all enjoyed the candidate work together, as we ate and each spoke our opinion. In this particular case, of course, we understood that our opinion would not count at all, since his decision had already been made. “But see how the colors blur, how the corners round”, he admired, “look at the reflection in the water, but it’s a house that dreams!”. That’s how the painting got its name and our Gallery another emblematic work”.

The curator of the exhibition, professor Aphrodite Kouria states: “The subjects of the Economou are simple, always taken from nature. Houses by the water, chapels, old bridges and mills, streets with arches, old olive trees, cypress trees, seas, boats. Buildings such as trees, solidly shaped and spaced, testify in many paintings that the painter had a strong sense of form, a sculptural perception – one might say – of volume and form in space. The clarity in the organization of volumes, levels as well as in the articulation of space is a constituent feature of most of the works of the artist’s first period”. The leading painter Michalis Economou, in addition to the teachings of the art schools, mastered his own technique in landscape painting. His rural research (light-color-line), captures in the most expressive way, not only the physiology of the soil, but also the feeling of the climate. His sensory perception of the mysteries of the s atmosphere, the absolute harmony between light and ether, light and fog, completes his autonomous visual expression. Thus, his landscapes, with his unique perception of natural space are perceived as “living” buildings via his unique brushstrokes and the power of the design of his picture-planes, ranking him as one of the most important European painters.

During the exhibition there will be educational programs for children, families and adults, while specially designed guided tours and programs will be held daily for all school levels.

• Curator of the exhibition: Aphrodite Kouria
• Architectural design: Sonia Charalambidou-Divanis, Irini Charalambidou

• Exhibition duration: February 1, 2024 to May 12, 2024

• Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-18:00, Thursday 10:00-20:00

• B&M Theocharakis Foundation: 9 Vas. Sophias Ave. & 1 Merlin St. Tel: 210-3611206. For more info visit the site