Participation in the exhibition “The Greek Month in London 1975, 50 Years On”

The Alpha Bank Art Collection is participating in the National Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition with 2 important works:

• Untitled, 1967, steel, wood, lamp, 96.5 x 66 x 19.2 cm, by Jannis Kounellis.
• Untitled (Box), acrylic on wood, 48 x 33 x 33 cm. (closed) / 48.5 x 66 x 28 cm (open), by Lucas Samaras

These pieces represent 2 of the most iconic figures of the Greek diaspora and can play a key role in understanding the historical reconstitution of that period.

With its participation in the exhibition, the Collection reaffirms its unwavering commitment to showcasing and supporting contemporary Greek art.

A commemorative exhibition

This is a commemorative exhibition by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (ΕΜΣT) marking the 50-year anniversary since “The Greek Month in London” (1975) event, which was dedicated to 2 visual arts exhibitions that had a marked impact on the international view of contemporary Greek art following the fall of the junta:

• Four Painters of 20th Century Greece
• Eight Artists, Eight Attitudes, Eight Greeks

The 2 exhibitions were a milestone for the evolution of contemporary art, as it was the first time when male and female artists from different generations and backgrounds, from Greece and the Greek diaspora, were featured together.

The artists of the exhibition

The ΕΜΣΤ exhibition features works by the artists who participated in the important 1975 event and were the ambassadors of contemporary Greek art.

Among them are Stephen Antonakos, Jannis Kounellis, Pavlos, Vlassis Caniaris, Chryssa, Lucas Samaras, Takis and Costas Tsoclis.

Promoting Greek culture in 1975

The historically important “The Greek Month in London” event was an initiative of the Press Office of the Greek Embassy in London, and was held in November and December 1975.

The exhibition aimed at showcasing the Greek art scene through:

• Visual arts
• Cinema
• Music
• Poetry
• Archive material

In this multi-dimensional environment, the 2 exhibitions at the artistic and cultural Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) and the Wildenstein Gallery highlighted:

• Issues of identity and relationship with the European avant-garde
• Questions surrounding the role of art in a period of social reconstruction

The curators of the 1975 exhibitions

The 2 art exhibitions for “The Greek Month” were organised by:

• Christos M. Joachimides (1932–2017), internationally acclaimed Greek curator
• Norman Rosenthal, distinguished British art historian

Jannis Kounellis used industrial materials such as steel, wood and lights to shape new ways of an object’s presence in space.

Kounellis’ austere but intense artistic language was mainly tied to the Arte Povera movement.

Lucas Samaras, with his widely known “Boxes” series, explores and concepts of memory and transformation.

The boxes serve as micro-universes, turning everyday materials into artistic structures.