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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
”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
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
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