"Michalis Economou: The alchemy of painting" at B. & M. Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music

The retrospective exhibition "Michalis Economou (1884-1933): the alchemy of painting" , which was first presented at Averoff Museum of Modern Greek Art in Metsovo from 1 October 2023 up to 15 January 2024, went on display at the B. & M. Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music from 1 February through 12 May 2024. The exhibition is dedicated to one of the most significant artists and reformers of Greek painting of the first half of the 20th century, yet one who remains among the least visible and familiar artists to the Greek public. This is the first major retrospective exhibition of Michalis Economou, held 90 years after his death.

Michalis Economou developed a unique, personal artistic vernacular, and contributed substantially to the renewal of Greek landscape painting. Of particular importance are Economou’s technique, his experimentations with materials, his handling of colour and supports - all ground-breaking in the context of Greek painting at the time. As the exhibition’s curator, Dr. Aphrodite Kouria, points out: "A close examination of the art produced by Michalis Economou in the short span of his career (and life) gives one the feeling that the simple, commonplace themes that consistently recur in the artist’s work serve in fact only as pretexts for conquering the 'subject' that preoccupies him, which is his own, inner-psychological 'landscape'. It is as if he is ‘chasing’, from one work to the next, after an ideal landscape that always eludes him (...) The dialectic between representation and abstraction, the material and immaterial, the visual and the tactile, the solid/static and the fluid/fleeting, as well as the illusory qualities of the painted image appear in very interesting variations in Economou's art”.

Duration: 1 February – 12 May 2024.
Organization-Production: E. Averoff Museum of Modern Greek Art
Curated by: Dr. Aphrodite Kouria
Αrchitectural design: Sonia Charalambides-Divani, Irene Charalambides

Under the aegis and the financial support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture

Exhibition Sponsors: A.G. Leventis Foundation, Baron Michael Tossizza Foundation, Electra Hotels & Resorts, Katogi Averoff SA, Bank of Greece, Anthony E. Comninos Foundation, Karavias Art Insurance.
Exclusive catalogue sponsor: Τhe J.F. Costopoulos Foundation 
 

B.& M. Theocharakis Foundation Sponsors: RENAULT, MINETTA INSURANCE