This island cannot be summed up in a paragraph, with so much that it has to offer. But in terms of art, just head to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rethymnon. Not only is its permanent exhibition of 500 works worth viewing, but it’s annual summer exposes also add a different perspective to the … Continue reading
Tag Archives: museums
Art flash: Naxos
If you haven’t visited this island’s golden sandy beaches yet, then you’re in for a treat. But if you don’t visit the Bazeos Tower while you’re there, you’ll lose out. Because this 17th century castle, situated 12 kilometres outside Naxos’ Hora, is not only a unique post-Byzantine architectural monument, but also a contemporary art den … Continue reading
Some Hope in the heart of Athens
THE REGENCY style’s ‘philhellenism’ is evident in its penchant for ancient Greek design elements (plus Roman and Egyptian). One of its greatest exponents, was Thomas Hope (1769-1831), who also had a great love of Oriental culture and style, as evident in his 60 drawings of Istanbul, that are on display these days at the Benaki’s Islamic … Continue reading
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
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