Exhibit on late artist
The art of prominent Greek painter Niki Karagatsi comes under the spotlight as a retrospective exhibition of her work, organized by the National Bank of Greece’s Educational Foundation, opening at the Evnardou Hall tonight. The artist attended the Athens School of Fine Arts, where her teachers included Mathiopoulos, Geraniotis, Argyros and Parthenis. During her final year, Karagatsi fell in love with young author Dimitris Rodopoulos, who later on became a leading figure in postwar Greek literature under the name Michalis Karagatsis. Following the couple’s wedding, Karagatsi gave up college and painting altogether. In 1950 artist Spyros Vassiliou urged her to take part in a group show, while her first solo exhibition in 1956 drew very positive reviews. The last 14 years of her life – Karagatsi died in 1984 – were by far the most creative ones. Angelos Delivorias, the director of the Benaki Museum wrote of the artist: «Karagatsi’s works seem to be a reminder that the scale of really big things is too small…» The exhibition runs to June 30. The last show, «People, Faces, Figures,» will take place at the L. Kanakakis Municipal Gallery as well as the Center for Contemporary Artistic Creation (5 Heimarras St). The exhibition is dedicated to the human figure, as seen through the works of Greek 20th-century artists, such as Nikolaos Gyzis and Aspasios Haronitakis.
