The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki participates in the 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Modern Art, "Old Crossroads - Make it New", which is the final part of the three-part programme that started in 2011, focussing on the Mediterranean. The A.M.Th. invited Konstantin Xenakis, an artist that draws inspiration from philosophical concepts and symbolic motifs of ancient Greek culture, organising the exhibition "HEL(L)AS! Everywhere!".
Konstantin Xenakis is a world citizen, through his life, his education and his artwork. Egyptian-born Greek, he studied art in Paris, taught in Berlin, exhibited his work around the world and never gave in to the charm of a single place or style. His art eloquently shows the unique way he comments on modern social realities, using semiotics, structuralism and meta-structuralism.
The exhibition of the A.M.Th. includes 42 artworks, created between 1974 and 2014, representative of his long arristic course. His inspiration were various symbols and material remnants of Mediterrranean cultures: Egyptian hieroglyphs, scripts, stone stelae, clay tablets, sherds and talismanic seals interact with modern symbols, maps, books or codices, being artistically transformed into paintings and drawings, in three-dimensional installations.
The place of a modern artist in a museum of ancient art is traditionally viewed as a "dialogue" between the ancient and the modern. In the case of Xenakis, this 'silent dialogue' is a special challenge for the artist, as he was given the opportunity - in his own words - to experience the ancient Greek world, where he believes he belongs. The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki becomes a caleidoscope through the artwork of Konstantin Xenakis suggesting a new kind of order, through dispersion and chaos.
ORGANISATION AND OVERVIEW: Polyxeni Adam-Veleni, archaeologist-theatrologist, Director of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki
MUSEOLOGICAL DESIGN: Evangelia Tsagaraki, archaeologist - Head of the Department of Metalworking, Lithics and Miniature Art, Styliana Galiniki, archaeologist.
MUSEOGRAPHIC DESIGN: loopoSTUDIO, A.M.Th. architectural department
An accompanying exhibition catalogue was published.
