On 26 October, the feast day of St. Demetrios, patron saint of Thessaloniki, we had the honour of welcoming the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, to the Mount Athos Center in order to officially open the exhibition entitled ‘Artistic Journey on Mount Athos’, which features works by Greek artists from the period 1922-1995 from the collections of the Thessaloniki Municipal Art Gallery, the Teloglion Arts Foundation of Aristotle University, the Society for Macedonian Studies, the Central Library of Aristotle University, the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou, the Mount Athos Art Archive (Holy Monastery of Simonopetra) and the Holy Convent of the Annunciation at Ormylia.
The President was welcomed by the Mayor of Thessaloniki and President of the Mount Athos Center’s Board of Directors, Mr. Stelios Angeloudis, the Deputy Mayor of Culture and Tourism and First Vice President of the Board of Directors, Mr. Vasilis Gakis, and the Director of the Mount Athos Center, Mr. Anastasios Douros, while the event was also attended by the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace, Mr. Kostas Gioulekas, MPs from Thessaloniki, members of the Mount Athos Center’s Board of Directors and various representatives of state bodies.
In her opening remarks, the President of the Hellenic Republic referred to the Mount Athos Center, describing it as ‘a spiritual, historical and cultural ark of Orthodoxy which, for twenty-four years in the center of Thessaloniki, serves the work and activities of the Athonite Republic’. She went on to describe the exhibition as a place where tradition and Byzantine iconography meet modern Western European painting and, more specifically, she noted that: ‘the title of the exhibition might incline us to think that it presents an artistic journey on Mount Athos through the gaze and personal style of important twentieth-century Greek painters who recorded their impressions of the ″Garden of the Virgin Mary″ on canvas; however, the visitor soon realizes that their art is not confined to the teachings of Byzantine painting but also incorporates all the modernist achievements nurtured by the artistic visions of the celebrated 1930s Generation’.
The President of the Republic went on to say that: ‘The painters whose works we admire here confirm the words and thoughts of the author of ″Mother Thessaloniki″, Nikos Gavriil Pentzikis: ″we cannot enjoy or experience the modern in art if it does not coexist with older forms, such as Byzantine iconography″’.
Finally, the President congratulated all those who had contributed to the organization of the exhibition and commented that through its works the visitor may observe the ‘diverse forms of artistic expression of the awe inspired in the artists by the harmony on Athos between the divine and the human, the symbolic and the real... It’s as if before us a hymn is unfolding to the sacred simplicity of beauty and the inaccessible ″mystique of the Mountain that no-one can disturb″, as Fotis Kontoglou wrote so characteristically’.
In his welcome address, the Mayor of Thessaloniki referred to Mount Athos as the ark of Orthodoxy and mentioned the special long-standing relationship between Thessaloniki and the Athonite Republic, which continues to exist up to this day through the work of the Mount Athos Center. The Mayor added that through the exhibition visitors have an opportunity to become acquainted with the works of some of the most important artists of the 1930s Generation and to learn more about the relationships they developed with Mount Athos.
The Deputy Mayor of Culture, Tourism Development and Inter-Municipal Cooperation, Mr. Vasilis Gakis, pointed out that the exhibition was being staged as part of the Dimitria Festival, which is a modern revival of the Byzantine ‘Demetria’ fair.
The art historian Dr. Katia Kilesopoulou showed the President around the exhibition, which presents works by the important artists Spyros Papaloukas, Lykourgos Kogevinas, Panos Papanakos, Nikos G. Pentzikis, Polykleitos Regkos, Giorgos Moschos, Giorgos Doukas, Christos Dellios, Nikos Fotakis, Ioannis Vranos, Nikos Vakalopoulos, Kleio Natsi, Efthymios Papadimitriou, Nikos Sachinis, Kostas Grammatopoulos, Giorgos Velissaridis, Panos Valsamakis and Georgios Kosmadopoulos.
The exhibition is being staged as part of the 59th Dimitria Festival of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
Exhibition curators: Dr. Katia Kilesopoulou, Anastasios Douros
Exhibition venue: Mount Athos Center, Nedelkos Mansion, 109 Egnatia St., Thessaloniki 54635 (tel. no. 2310 263 308).
The exhibition will be open to the public from 29 October 2024 until 2 February 2025.
Opening hours: Monday & Wednesday 09.00-16.00 / Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 09.00-20.00 / Saturday 09.00-15.00 / Closed on Sundays.
During the exhibition tours can be arranged for school pupils, university students and other groups. For further information please contact 2310 263 308.
ADMISSION FREE
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/artistic-journey-on-mount-athos-official-opening-by-the-president-of-the-hellenic-republic#sigProIdfe0a534909
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/artistic-journey-on-mount-athos-official-opening-by-the-president-of-the-hellenic-republic#sigProIdfe0a534909
In her opening remarks, the President of the Hellenic Republic referred to the Mount Athos Center, describing it as ‘a spiritual, historical and cultural ark of Orthodoxy which, for twenty-four years in the center of Thessaloniki, serves the work and activities of the Athonite Republic’. She went on to describe the exhibition as a place where tradition and Byzantine iconography meet modern Western European painting and, more specifically, she noted that: ‘the title of the exhibition might incline us to think that it presents an artistic journey on Mount Athos through the gaze and personal style of important twentieth-century Greek painters who recorded their impressions of the ″Garden of the Virgin Mary″ on canvas; however, the visitor soon realizes that their art is not confined to the teachings of Byzantine painting but also incorporates all the modernist achievements nurtured by the artistic visions of the celebrated 1930s Generation’.
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/artistic-journey-on-mount-athos-official-opening-by-the-president-of-the-hellenic-republic#sigProId0c0fda75fe
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/artistic-journey-on-mount-athos-official-opening-by-the-president-of-the-hellenic-republic#sigProId0c0fda75fe
The President of the Republic went on to say that: ‘The painters whose works we admire here confirm the words and thoughts of the author of ″Mother Thessaloniki″, Nikos Gavriil Pentzikis: ″we cannot enjoy or experience the modern in art if it does not coexist with older forms, such as Byzantine iconography″’.
Finally, the President congratulated all those who had contributed to the organization of the exhibition and commented that through its works the visitor may observe the ‘diverse forms of artistic expression of the awe inspired in the artists by the harmony on Athos between the divine and the human, the symbolic and the real... It’s as if before us a hymn is unfolding to the sacred simplicity of beauty and the inaccessible ″mystique of the Mountain that no-one can disturb″, as Fotis Kontoglou wrote so characteristically’.
In his welcome address, the Mayor of Thessaloniki referred to Mount Athos as the ark of Orthodoxy and mentioned the special long-standing relationship between Thessaloniki and the Athonite Republic, which continues to exist up to this day through the work of the Mount Athos Center. The Mayor added that through the exhibition visitors have an opportunity to become acquainted with the works of some of the most important artists of the 1930s Generation and to learn more about the relationships they developed with Mount Athos.
The Deputy Mayor of Culture, Tourism Development and Inter-Municipal Cooperation, Mr. Vasilis Gakis, pointed out that the exhibition was being staged as part of the Dimitria Festival, which is a modern revival of the Byzantine ‘Demetria’ fair.
The art historian Dr. Katia Kilesopoulou showed the President around the exhibition, which presents works by the important artists Spyros Papaloukas, Lykourgos Kogevinas, Panos Papanakos, Nikos G. Pentzikis, Polykleitos Regkos, Giorgos Moschos, Giorgos Doukas, Christos Dellios, Nikos Fotakis, Ioannis Vranos, Nikos Vakalopoulos, Kleio Natsi, Efthymios Papadimitriou, Nikos Sachinis, Kostas Grammatopoulos, Giorgos Velissaridis, Panos Valsamakis and Georgios Kosmadopoulos.
The exhibition is being staged as part of the 59th Dimitria Festival of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
Exhibition curators: Dr. Katia Kilesopoulou, Anastasios Douros
Exhibition venue: Mount Athos Center, Nedelkos Mansion, 109 Egnatia St., Thessaloniki 54635 (tel. no. 2310 263 308).
The exhibition will be open to the public from 29 October 2024 until 2 February 2025.
Opening hours: Monday & Wednesday 09.00-16.00 / Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 09.00-20.00 / Saturday 09.00-15.00 / Closed on Sundays.
During the exhibition tours can be arranged for school pupils, university students and other groups. For further information please contact 2310 263 308.
ADMISSION FREE
