IN 1966, the first Zoumboulakis Gallery opened its doors to the public on Kriezotou Street, downtown Athens. This gallery, was joined by a second Zoumboulakis gallery (in 1973) on Kolonaki Square. Together, these art spaces helped in the modern artistic enlightenment of Athenians of those days – a conservative and traditional public on the most … Continue reading
Category Archives: creativity
Art and music united
THERE’S an interesting marriage of art and music going on these days in Athens – a truly wonderful idea and experience. The Athens State Orchestra is performing some concerts at various annexes of the Benaki museum: Kicking off with a trio of musicians playing works by Schubert and Brahms at the Benaki’s Hadjikyriakos-Ghika museum on Monday, March … Continue reading
Why is Greek art underrated? And why invest in it?
WITH THE CRISIS, Greek assets in general have plummeted, and with them, so did the Greek art market. Auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s have lost their interest in Greek art (their Greek sales becoming rarer and rarer), while some collectors have been trying to sell off some of their Greek works. What does … Continue reading
Farewell Tetsis, Greek light catcher
IN THE work of acclaimed painter Panayiotis Tetsis, light and colour are enemies and allies because without the one, the other cannot exist. But it is darkness that is colour’s real enemy. In this amazing contemporary colourist’s last show of 27 large-scale works at the Theocharakis Foundation (May 6-October 25 2015), Tetsis, who used to … Continue reading
The Benaki’s Abramovic experience
Serbian artist Marina Abramovic – the world-renowned pioneer of contemporary performance art – is known for pushing the limits of her body and spirit through her art, unafraid of the consequences, whether they be pain, danger or exhaustion. In 1997 she was awarded with the Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennale, in 2008 with … Continue reading
Kavallieratos’ ‘species’ of birds and philosophers at the Bernier-Eliades
DIONISIS KAVALLIERATOS’ show at the Bernier/Eliades includes some intriguing glazed ceramic pottery – like you’ve never seen before. How about a pyramid of philosophers? Or maybe bird watching is more your thing – in a gallery? ”Birds are beautiful animals and they carry all kinds of symbolism and associations”, says Kavallieratos about his series of … Continue reading
Waiting for the ‘resurrection’ of Greece: Pallantzas talks about art and the crisis
EVERYONE has felt some kind of loss during the Greek crisis. Christos Pallantzas’ current show at the Evripides Gallery focuses exactly on this subject – capturing in his paintings, what isn’t there. From portraits to nudes, humans and their relationships are analysed, explored and exposed. What they lack, takes centre stage: These narratives ask of … Continue reading
Rorris tells the naked truth about his paintings
LIKE bees to honey, art lovers swarmed to the Felios Collection on February 13, in order to hear the acclaimed 53-year old, bespectacled painter Giorgos Rorris talk about his work (on the occasion of his current show of 33 works there). Black-dressed for the occasion, he admitted that it was the first time that he … Continue reading
Rorris in focus
Giorgos Rorris, is an artist who has mastered the painting of the human form via oils, to such an extent that not only does he paint his models’ exterior appearance, but he also manages to capture the inner life of his sitters via the painting process . Each painting is like an ode to the … Continue reading
A few suggestions for February
So, what’s in store for February in terms of art? Here are some exhibitions that you might want to start off with in Athens, the city of dreams and nightmares, crisis tension and classical harmony, general strikes and cultural creativity (and much, much more of course): Metamatic:taf (the art foundation) The ‘Culturelines Sans Frontieres’ project … Continue reading