THE BENAKI MUSEUM’s Pireos Annexe has organised an exhibition entitled ‘Juvenilia’ (‘Protolia’ in greek), which traces the artistic character of 11 of Greece’s renowned artists, from early works to mature ones. The exhibition runs till January 11, 2026, and seeks, studies and highlights the ideas, motifs and characteristics that manifested themselves early in the work of eleven Greek artists, to root gradually in their mature artistic language. The artists in focus are the following: Spyros Vassiliou, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, Yannis Tsarouchis, Yannis Moralis, A. Tassos, Vasso Katraki, Jannis Spyropoulos, Alekos Kontopoulos, Dimitris Mytaras, Yannis Gaitis and Chryssa Romanos.

‘Juvenilia’ is the result of collaboration between three organisations and their respective curators, who initially selected these eleven artistic personalities of the 20th century, based on their significant presence in the history of modern Greek art. The exhibition ventures a return to the beginning of these artists’ journey and their initial explorations, in order to investigate the following: What were the first creative and expressive elements that appeared in their work, and how did these evolve into their later acclaimed artistic style?

To answer this question, the exhibition’s co-curators invited prominent art historians and theoreticians to research and write essays, seeking their own take on the issue.

In this way, for the study of ‘Juvenilia’, the following matchings with art historians/theoreticians were created:

Spyros Vassiliou · Anny Malama

Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika · Evita Arapoglou and Ioanna Moraiti

Yannis Tsarouchis · Anna Kafetsi

Yannis Moralis · Evgenios D. Matthiopoulos

Α. Tassos · Yannis Bolis

Vasso Katraki · Spyros Moschonas

Jannis Spyropoulos · Olga Daniilopoulou

Alekos Kontopoulos · Bia Papadopoulou

Dimitris Mytaras · Areti Leopoulou

Yannis Gaitis · Elena Hamalidi

Chryssa Romanos · Polina Kosmadaki

The early works contain treasures, elusive perhaps at the time of their creation, but certainly valuable and worthy of re-evaluation vis-à-vis the mature works. The exhibition ‘Juvenilia’ serves as a proposal for the study and evaluation of the artists’ oeuvres, which doesn’t exclusively involve going back to the youthful, “immature” past of each creator to discover it for its own sake. They also aim to offer an original, arguably alternative, way of reconsidering an otherwise well-known body of work.

The fully illustrated catalogue of the exhibition, published by the Bank of Greece, includes the essays of the invited art historians and theoreticians on the work of the exhibition’s artists, and the introductory essay of its co-curators. 

For more info (tickets, open hours), you may visit the Benaki museum’s site here

Art Scene Athens’ is written/run by artist/journalist Stella Sevastopoulos. Dedicated to presenting what is happening on the Greek art scene (but not only), and also to giving Greek artists (and artists based in Greece) an international voice on the internet. For more on Stella Sevastopoulos’s art, click here If you would like to be featured in Art Scene Athens, please send email (stelsevas@yahoo.com).