The exhibition “Yannis Moralis. A Tour of Athens” is the first collaboration between Athens International Airport and the Yannis Moralis Workshop.
The aim of the exhibition is to introduce to the passengers and visitors of Athens Airport the leading Greek painter, printmaker, set designer and professor, who left an indelible mark on the country’s visual arts.
Yannis Moralis, through his work, formulated a modern version of “Greekness” and incorporated elements of ancient and modern Greek culture, alongside the influences of European modernism.
His artistic pursuits, his architectural compositions, his artistic intervention in public space and his contribution to the applied arts have made him an emblematic figure of contemporary Greek art.
The basic idea of the exhibition is to connect the Airport, which is the first gateway to the city of Athens and Greece in general, with the wider work of Yannis Moralis.
For this purpose, a magnified model of a ceramic wall composition, created by the painter for the New Town Hall of Athens on Liosia Street, was installed in the exhibition space, depicting an imaginary timeless view of the city in the style of Moralis. By graphically separating the main performance from its shadows and the blue of the sky and the sea, the installation brings Moralis’ draft to life and transforms it into a three-dimensional setting that invites the visitor to discover it.
The exhibition was designed exclusively for the exhibition space of the “Art & Culture”.
The idea and curatorship of the exhibition were: Christina Morali, Niki Daphne, Tasos Koutsouris, Angelos Moreti. Coordinator and curator of AIA: Hara – Eleni Mitsotaki . Exhibition Design.
Yannis Moralis was born in 1916 in Arta. ΠVery early on, still a child, his gift for painting is revealed. At the age of 15 he entered the Athens School of Fine Arts. This was followed by studies in Rome and Paris. In 1939 he returned to Greece and grew artistically during a period when the war suspended all activity. At the age of 31, he is elected professor, the youngest in the history of the School of Fine Arts.
Throughout his creative career he has not remained stagnant in his art. He is constantly experimenting, testing materials and techniques, continuing his formal quest. As early as 1950, his interest turned to the creation of monumental abstract compositions in public space. He collaborates with renowned architects, ceramists, publishers, music composers, poets and directors, thus developing the expressive means that can capture his vision. From the narrative figurativeness of his anthropocentric compositions, his art gradually settles down to the allusive and unadorned shape or symbol. His works are characterized by poetic lyricism, serenity, symmetry and order.
“My work is a kind of diary that is taken from the emotions, impressions, memories and quests of a lifetime…”
The Society for the Study, Research and Promotion of Modern Greek Art – Yannis Moralis Laboratory is a non-profit company, established in 2019, based in Yannis Moralis’ laboratory in Athens.
The aims of the Society are the study, promotion and protection of the artistic work of Yannis Moralis and, more generally, the strengthening and promotion of intellectual and artistic creation and the raising of public awareness on issues of culture and art.
The exhibition is located in the exhibition space “Art & Culture”, Arrivals Level, (Entrance 1) of Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”.
Duration of the exhibition 22/01/2024 to 31/07/2024, free public access.
