Art Among The Ruins: Can A Sculpture Show In Athens Offer Greece New Hope?

A group of artists stand chatting on the terrace of a grand mansion in the centre of Athens. In the distance lie the ruins of the Acropolis. The view towards it, across the sprawl of the grand gardens, is interrupted by a series of large sculptures. A contorted bronze statue by Sarah Lucas sits over there – it’s her contemporary vision of a Greek goddess.

Nearby, a wall-mounted text sculpture by Richard Long charts the evolution of technological power alongside animal extinction. A huge hippo by Allora & Calzadilla lounges under the trees, while a pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama sits quietly in the grass.

This is Terrapolis, a group show curated by the Whitechapel Gallery director Iwona Blazwick, which brings together Athenian artists and an assembly of international heavyweights, all in the shadow of the ancient – and modern – ruins of Athens.

The curation is typical of Blazwick’s forward-thinking vision. Located in the district of Kolonaki, which is populated by contemporary art galleries, including the game-changing 3137 and State of Concept, the show also borders the once-anarchist area of Exarchia, which is home to many artists’ studios. The location is testament to the recent renaissance of Athens’s contemporary art scene.

Blazwick’s aim is to provide an alternative perspective on Greece. “We hope to counter the grounding down of the Greek economy,” she said. “It’s a reductive stereotype. We’re saying: Athens is alive, dynamic, and as important as it ever was.”

Dimitris Daskalopoulos, founder of the non-profit cultural organisation Neon, who initiated the show, hopes Terrapolis will move Greek society forwards. “Art can stimulate our collective consciousness. It can help us find new direction.”

Elina Kountouri, the director of Neon agreed. “I don’t know what art historians will call this movement in the future, but there is a movement here. Everyone is looking to Greece now. We’re saying: listen to the creative community, it could be as effective as protest. This is how societies change.”

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