The Basile & Elise Goulandris Foundation in central Athens is presenting, at its temporary exhibitions space at 13 Eratosthenous str. Pangrati, a tribute to prominent artist Fotis Kontoglou titled “Fotis Kontoglou and his Influence on the Younger Generation”, that runs through to December 12.
This exhibition, commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the pogrom against the Greeks in Asia Minor, serves as remembrance and memorial. A memory that delves into the origins of historic time whilst, at the same time, serving as a reminder of the debt and responsibility people have in preserving collective national and folk memories. Part of the intention is to restore the sanctuary of “Greekness” and rekindle the fires of neglected traditions, that has been sidelined for a century and raise these back up into our awareness for analytical critique.
Kontoglou (1895-1965), one of the leading personalities of his generation, saw it necessary – as a genuine spokesperson to advocate the need to return to established folk tradition – to end the guardianship of and dependence on the art movements of the West. He wanted tradition to be and remain Greek and in line with older concepts of Orthodoxy.
At a time when such concepts were shaken by the swirl of multicultural transformation and traditional structures were pressured by deconstruction, Kontoglou, an heir of Aivali educational values, felt obliged to object to the so-called “Attic narcissism”, as coined by artist Yannis Tsarouchis, and draw from the depths of his soul the dormant values and symbols of his cultural references.
Despite criticism, both his narrative painting and spiritual doctrines have left an indelible mark, deeply influencing Greece in the 20th century.
A two part eulogy.
The first focuses on Kontoglou’s overwhelming emotional sensitivity, the clarity of his narrative, skillful design, and the lyricism of his brush strokes, all qualities that lead him to be a protagonist of a revivalist movement, one of national consciousnesses as well as the metaphors in Christian Orthodoxy’s functional art.
The second part of the exhibition highlights his impact on art and literature of the 20th century especially among the younger generation of Greek artist and writers.
Besides Kontoglou’s first students, namely Tsarouchis and Nikos Engonopoulos, he had developed strong relationships with numerous artists, many who under were directly under his tutelage and would go on to ‘assist’ him, and those who were neither his assistants or students, who belong to the group of his “crypto-students”. To this day there are many active artists who openly admit that they have absorbed the artistic and spiritual aura of Kontoglou‘s work, and this sometimes resonates in their work.
Overall, work by 39 artists is juxtaposed alongside works by Kontoglou, demonstrating influences, direct and indirect. A total of 52 lenders – foundations, organisations and private collectors – contributed with loans amounting to 135 works.
The exhibition is presented in the following sections:
a) First students
b) Myths and heroes
c) Portraits
d) Landscapes
e) The uprooting
f) Church painting
g) Iconography
Work by the following artists features in the exhibition: Emmanouil Bitsakis, Christos Bokoros, Giorgos Chochlidakis, Nikolaos Choutos, Stefanos Daskalakis, Diamantis Diamantopoulos, Nikos Engonopoulos, Stelios Faitakis, Fikos, Konstantinos Georgakopoulos, Georgios Gliatas, Markos Kampanis, Andreas Kontellis, Fotis Kontoglou, Rallis Kopsidis, George Kordis, Alekos Kyrarinis, Alekos Levidis, Klearchos Loukopoulos, Nektarios Mamais, Tassos Mantzavinos, Ioannis Mitrakas, Yannis Moralis, Nikos Moschos, Giannis Papadellis, Spyros Papaloukas, Konstantinos Papamichalopoulos, Kostas Papanikolaou, Spyros Papanikolaou, George Rorris, Edouard Sacaillan, Pavlos Samios, Father Stamatis Skliris, Sotiris Sorogas, Yannis Tsarouchis, Ioannis Vamboulis, Petros Vamboulis, Fotis Varthis, Spyros Vassiliou, Nikos Velmos and Klaus Vrieslander.
The General Director of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Mr. Kyriakos Koutsomallis, is curator of the exhibition.
The exhibition is accompanied by a 400-page catalogue, published with the support of the Non-Profit Civil Company AEGEAS. Specialised guided tours are being offered throughout the exhibition’s duration, along with educational workshops, focused on portraits, for children aged 8 to 12, on Sundays.
The Basile & Elise Goulandris Foundation
13 Eratosthenous str.
Athens 116 35, Greece
Τ. +30 210 72 52 895
