Art exhibition devoted to the memory and work of Nikolaos Masteropoulos
The Mount Athos Center presents the original art exhibition entitled ‘Nikolaos Masteropoulos: The Road from Beauty to Spirituality’ to mark the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the death of this leading artist.The exhibition will be officially opened at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 21 February 2023 in the exhibition space of the Mount Athos Center (109 Egnatia St.).
This is the first retrospective exhibition of Nikolaos Masteropoulos’s work to be held in Greece and presents works employing a variety of different techniques, such as mosaic, Florentine mosaic, enamel on copper, miniature mosaic and cloisonné, as well as various paintings, drawings etc.
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProId152d918564
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProId152d918564
The exhibition catalogue includes the following texts by the curators of the exhibition:
Nikolaos Masteropoulos (1948-2003) was a great artist who was little known in Greece.
His occupation with painting from a young age, his training at the Moscow Lyceum of Art and his own love of art laid the foundations for the formation of his artistic personality, which was later completed through his academic studies, his pioneering research and his constant labours.
The artistic legacy that he left behind includes works from his time at the Lyceum of Art in the form of paintings, graphics and drawings. His monumental works cover hundreds of square metres and adorn mainly public buildings with creations making use of applied arts like ceramics and mosaic.
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProIdd896a0d570
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProIdd896a0d570
From as early as the 1980s his rich and varied work achieved particular recognition and won important awards, first in Russia (1984-1985) for his relief mosaics and monumental works using glazed ceramics, and then in Hungary (1992) for his large-scale works using painting and enamelling techniques on copper plates.
He concerned himself in particular with the enamelling technique, which he perfected by creating a series of works that are outstanding not only for their high artistic quality but also the uniqueness of their construction. For his pioneering work on this technique he was honoured by various well-known artistic bodies in Europe, while UNESCO included an enamel work of his in the volume entitled UNESCO art collection: selected works (Paris 2021), which was published to mark the 75th anniversary of UNESCO’s foundation and also includes works by Picasso, Le Corbusier, Miró and other artists of international renown.
During the last few years of his life (1997-2003) he worked on Mount Athos, reviving techniques used in Byzantine miniature art, such as the construction of miniature mosaic icons on a wax-mastic bed, and also the extremely delicate and demanding cloisonné technique, a technique once used in works presented as official gifts by the imperial court. Finally, Masteropoulos created a number of ecclesiastical works that are characterised by an intense spiritual dimension, such as his last work on the theme of the Apocalypse, which clearly shows the level of artistic and spiritual maturity that he had attained.
Nikolaos Masteropoulos was a visual artist of international acclaim who was proud of his Greek roots. His mature works bear the influence of Greek culture and are pervaded by the spirit of Orthodoxy, while, overall, his life and work were a constant quest for beauty and a striving to partake of God’s grace.
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProIdfab2e6ce44
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProIdfab2e6ce44
Brief Biographical Sketch of the Artist
Born 9 September 1948 in Moscow.
1961-1968: studied at the Middle School of Art of the Academy of Arts in Moscow.
1968-1973: studied in the Department of Monumental Decoration and Applied Art at the Stroganov Higher School of Industrial and Applied Arts, specialising in artistic ceramics. For his degree project he was awarded first class honours.
1974-1977: employed at the Factory of Monumental Decorative Art.
1977: became a member of the Artists’ Association of the USSR.
1977-1979: created monumental ceramic decoration at the ‘Botanical Garden’ station in the Moscow metro network.
1980: Worked in the city of Tolyatti on the Black Sea coast, constructing relief ceramics with themes from Greek mythology and Homer.
1984: created decorative works for the Moscow Institute of Mechanical Physics on the theme ‘Our city – Moscow’.
1985: created ceramic and metal decoration for the Polymetal Company in Moscow.
1986-1987: completed the ceramic decoration at the Mechanical and Energy Support Centre in Khimki.
From 1987 onwards: worked with enamel on copper.
1992: his work Beast – Man was included in UNESCO’s collection of art works.
1995-1997: concerned himself with Florentine mosaic.
From 1997 onwards: worked on Mount Athos.
11 March 2003: died in Moscow.
EXHIBITIONS
1981: Group exhibition at the Artists’ Association of the USSR in Moscow.
1982: Group exhibition entitled The Youth of Russia at the Trade and Exhibition Centre in Moscow.
1983: Group exhibition entitled Landscapes of the Fatherland in the Works of Painters at the Trade and Exhibition Centre in Moscow.
1987: Group exhibition entitled The Monuments of our Fatherland at the Moscow Union of Artists.
1988: Group exhibition entitled A Millenium of Russian Culture at the Moscow House of Artists.
1988: Group exhibition entitled Syros in the Works of Russian Artists at Neorion on Syros.
1989: Group exhibition entitled Monumental Art of Russia in Ravenna.
1990: International Enamel Exhibition in Berlin.
1992: International Enamel Symposium in Kecskemet, Hungary. Received an award for his innovative skill and the unique size of his works.
1993: Group exhibition of Moscow painters at the Moscow Union of Artists.
1995: Group exhibition entitled Russian House at the Central House of Artists in Moscow.
1996: Group exhibition entitled Autumn Exhibition at the Central House of Artists in Moscow.
1997: Group exhibition entitled Byzantine Techniques at the Antoniadeios House of Letters and Arts in Veroia.
1997: Group exhibition entitled 850 Years of Moscow at the Central House of Artists in Moscow.
1998: Group exhibition entitled The Harmony of Contrasts at the Moscow House of Artists.
2002: Group exhibition entitled Monumental Artists of Russia at the Central House of Artists in Moscow.
2004: Group exhibition entitled 50 Years of the Department of Monumental Painting of the Moscow Union of Artists at the Moscow House of Artists.
2005: Retrospective exhibition entitled Nicolaos Masteropoulos: Painting, Mosaic, Enamel at the Moscow Union of Artists.
2005: Retrospective exhibition entitled Nicolaos Masteropoulos: Mosaic, Enamel at the All-Russian Exhibition Centre in Moscow.
2005: Retrospective exhibition entitled Nicolaos Masteropoulos: Mosaic, Enamel at the Archangel Museum-Estate in Moscow.
2005: Exhibition entitled The History and Culture of the Pontos in the Works of Nikolaos Masteropoulos at the Moscow House of Nationalities.
2007-2008: Exhibition entitled Enamel: Colour In the Course of Time at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens.
2008: Group exhibition entitled The Greeks of the Diaspora 15th – 21st Centuries at the Hellenic Parliament in Athens.
2012: Group exhibition entitled Syros in the 80s through the Eyes of Eleven Russian Painters at the Hermoupolis Industrial Museum on Syros.
2017: Group exhibition entitled A Study on Athos at the Mount Athos Center in Thessaloniki.
2019: Exhibition entitled St. Demetrios in the Art of Mount Athos at the City Hall in Thessaloniki.
2003-2022: Works by Masteropoulos referring to the culture and genocide of the Pontic Greeks were presented in a series of large exhibitions organised by Konstantinos Fotiadis entitled Pontos: the Right and Obligation to be Remembered at central exhibition venues in Athens, Thessaloniki and all the major towns of Macedonia.
Works by Masteropoulos are to be found in major Russian museums, including the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Yaroslavl City Museum and galleries belonging to the Moscow Union of Artists and the Moscow Exhibition and Trade Centre, as well as in the collection of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and in private collections in Russia and abroad. His works are also to be found in museums in America, Germany, Cyprus (collection of Bishop Chrysostomos), Greece (Dionysiou Monastery, European Cultural Center of Delphi), Switzerland, Japan, Poland and Hungary (National Collection of Enamels).
View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProId838f6795bd
https://www.agioritikiestia.gr/en/nikolaos-masteropoulos-the-road-from-beauty-to-spirituality#sigProId838f6795bd
Warm thanks are due to the following for graciously lending works for the exhibition:
Greece:
The Very Reverend Archimandrite Petros, Abbot of Dionysiou Monastery / Konstantinos Fotiadis, Emeritus Professor of History, University of West Macedonia / Nikos Anagnostopoulos, film director / Andreas Vasileiou / Michalis Charalambidis / Konstantinos Nikitakos / Veronica Sarigiannidi / Ivan Masteropoulos
Moscow :
Ludmila and Michail Masteropoulos
Exhibition curators: Anastasios Douros, Ivan Masteropoulos
Official opening: 7.30 p.m. Tuesday 21 February 2023
Duration of exhibition: 21 February – 20 April 2023
Exhibition venue: Mount Athos Center, 109 Egnatia St., Thessaloniki
Opening hours:
Monday and Wednesday: 09:00 – 16:00
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 09:00 – 20:00
Saturday: 09:00 – 14:00
Guided tours for schools and other groups can be arranged in agreement with the Center.
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