«Women in Visual Arts 1960-1980: Their contribution to the Greek avant-garde»
October 16, 2014 - January 10, 2015
The exhibition extends until Saturday, January 24
Curator: Charis Kanellopoulou

The Contemporary Greek Art Institute iset presents on Thursday October 16, 2014, the exhibition Women in Visual Arts 1960-1980: Their contribution to the Greek avant-garde. 

Artists: Celeste Polycroniadi, Eleni Zerva, Nausica Pastra, Sosso Houtopoulou-Kontaratou, Alex Mylona, Ioanna Spiteris-Veropoulou, Chrysa Romanos, Bia Davou, Niki Kanagini, Aspa Stassinopoulou, Celia Daskopoulou, Rena Papaspyrou, Maria Karavela, Vasso Kyriaki, Opy Zouni, Diohandi, Leda Papaconstantinou.

Curator of the exhibition and author of the essay of its accompanying catalogue is art historian Charis Kanellopoulou, who also submitted the relevant proposal.

The contribution of women artists to the Greek avant-garde has been established beyond any doubt by the very same dynamics of their work. During a crucial period for the development of Greek art from 1960 to 1980, where concepts such as, “modern art”, “avant-garde” or “modernization”, were especially influential and electrified the atmosphere, they opted for greater expressive freedom and led the way by presenting progressive artworks.

Nevertheless, female artistic production has been treated as a special category, often following the latest developments, since it was determined in the context of a historiography that has mainly valued the work of male artists. Regardless of these opinions or with a critical stance towards them, women artists were able to enter the Greek avant-garde, attaining multifaceted explorations and exhausting the challenges of the emerging artistic experimentations of the time.

The exhibition at the Contemporary Greek Art Institute iset aims at bringing the significant action of those Greek women artists to the forefront, not as a secondary reference, but first and foremost.