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
Category Archives: greece
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
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
Let’s talk about art, collector Frissiras
SITTING in collector Vlassis Frissiras’ office, I explain to him that I had interviewed him once before, about 12 or so years ago – and that although I have taken a break from covering the art scene in Greece for a decade (!!!!!! due to a ‘change of profession’ after becoming a full-time mum), my … Continue reading
Picasso and Cocteau: A match made in Hellenism
”WHEN I am in Greece, it feels like walking on air. There is something about all things, both animate and inanimate, that immerse you in a sea of optimism. It’s not only about the beauty of nature and art. It’s the people also. I was greatly impressed by the fact that, despite the rough times … Continue reading
Touring the new Greek landscape
Art historian Charis Kambouridis was pleasantly surprised when he encountered quite a few more art lovers than he had expected, to turn up for his talk/guided tour of the new show at the Evripides Gallery on Sunday, December 13. Entitled ‘The New Landscape Painting’, this exhibition presents how a particular generation of 18 artists have … Continue reading
An exhibition stripped bare of its boundaries
The philosophical stance of ‘All in good measure’ (Cleovoulos), or following the ‘middle way’ (Buddha), is something that the majority of humanity tends to believe as being the road to happiness, harmony and balance. But is it? Our world today is anything but balanced and harmonious, and Greek society in particular, still in the dark … Continue reading
Tony Cragg lets cultural cat out of the bag
INTRIGUING, biomorphic yet also tectonic and totemic ‘beings’ , have taken over the courtyard and one floor of the Benaki Pireos these days – Tony Cragg’s 25 sculptures. Both organic and futuristic, many of them are tall, verticle structures, that tower over you like a Robo Cop, and look like they are made up of … Continue reading
When Tetsis’ colour becomes darkness
“Landscape is not a genre of art but a medium. Landscape is a medium of exchange between the human and the natural, the self and the other. As such, it is like money: good for nothing in itself, but expressive of a potentially limitless reserve of value. Landscape is a natural scene mediated by culture. … Continue reading