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The National Gallery \u2013 Alexandros Soutsos Museum launches on\u00a0Friday 13 January 2023<\/strong>\u00a0at 11:00 at the \u2018Onassis Foundation\u2019 Auditorium\u00a0<\/strong>its\u00a0Programme of Public Events<\/strong>\u00a0to accompany its temporary exhibitions. The inaugural event is a one-day conference organised in the context of the retrospective exhibition \u2018Konstantinos Parthenis. Painting an Ideal Greece.<\/strong>\u2019 Focusing on the\u00a0influence of Theosophy on the visual arts<\/strong>, the conference, which is open to the public, features art historians and the National Gallery Director,\u00a0Syrago Tsiara<\/strong>, who is credited with the original idea and the scientific supervision.<\/p>\n A mixture of occult, philosophical, social and religious beliefs, Theosophy emerged in\u00a0the late 19th century<\/strong>\u00a0and grew into one of the most\u00a0resilient spiritual movements<\/strong>, enjoying considerable prominence to this day. Pre-eminent artists who \u2013 each in their own way \u2013 helped shape the European avant-garde, such as Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Kazimir Malevich, and the Greek-centric modernist Konstantinos Parthenis, were all associated with Theosophy in their early years.<\/p>\n As a young man in 1896, Parthenis met the theosophical artist Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach in his native Alexandria. He followed him to the outskirts of Vienna and lived with his other disciples in the\u00a0Humanitas<\/em>\u00a0commune for about a year. There, he experienced Diefenbach\u2019s peculiar teaching and the communal way of life in tune with the pantheistic, ecological and utopian ideas of the time.<\/p>\n The eclectic affinities of Theosophy with the personal expression of spirituality that informs the work of Parthenis and, more broadly, the adoption of non-rationalist ideas by Greek intellectuals and artists during the first decades of the 20th century, as well as the relationship of Theosophy with Russian avant-garde art, abstraction, neoplasticism and theories of the architectural space are the main thematic areas that the eight speakers will explore in their addresses. Especially concerning the encounter of Theosophy and abstract art, the work of two important women, the pioneer of abstract painting, Hilma af Klint and the first Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Hilla Rebay, will be presented for the first time in Greece.<\/p>\n Participants (in alphabetical order):<\/strong>\u00a0Angeliki Charistou,\u00a0<\/strong>Curator of Costakis Collection and Archive, MOMus \u2013 Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection,\u00a0Victoria Ferentinou,\u00a0<\/strong>Assistant Professor, Department of Fine Arts and Art Sciences, School of Fine Arts, University of Ioannina, Sokratis\u00a0Georgiadis,\u00a0<\/strong>Professor Emeritus of History of Architecture and Design, Department of Architecture, State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart,\u00a0Evgenios D. Matthiopoulos,\u00a0<\/strong>Professor of Art History, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete, Collaborating Faculty Member, Institute for Mediterranean Studies,\u00a0Katia Papandreopoulou,\u00a0<\/strong>Art Historian PhD, Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Fine Arts and Art Sciences, School of Fine Arts, University of Ioannina,\u00a0Spyros Petritakis,\u00a0<\/strong>Art Historian PhD, Adjunct Lecturer, Athens School of Fine Arts,\u00a0Maria Tsantsanoglou,\u00a0<\/strong>Acting General Director of MOMus, Director of MOMus \u2013 Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection,\u00a0Syrago Tsiara,\u00a0<\/strong>Art Historian PhD, Director of the National Gallery \u2013 Alexandros Soutsos Museum.<\/p>\n The program of the conference can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Concept \u2013 Scientific Supervision:\u00a0<\/strong>Syrago Tsiara, Director, National Gallery \u2013 Alexandros Soutsos Museum<\/p>\n Organised by\u00a0Elpiniki Meintani and Artemis Zervou, Curators, National Gallery \u2013 Alexandros Soutsos Museum<\/p>\n #\u03a0\u03b9\u03bd\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03b8\u03ae\u03ba\u03b7\u039c\u03b1\u03c2\u00a0#OurNationalGallery\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n INFORMATION<\/strong><\/p>\n Secretary: Ntina Plaka, +302144086222, secretary@nationalgallery.gr<\/a><\/p>\n National Gallery \u2013 Alexandros Soutsos Museum The event will be filmed.<\/p>\n Follow the National Gallery on\u00a0social media
\n50, Vasileos Konstantinou Ave., 116 34 Athens
\nFriday 13 January 2023
\n\u2018Onassis Foundation\u2019 Auditorium
\nStart time: 11:00
\nFree admission
\nThe Conference will be held in Greek.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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