The end point of Europe called Greece gives birth to artists and inspires them. This is what the Tate Modern gallery’s curator Jessica Morgan has decided to highlight, and today, the fruit of her work is presented in the Museum of Cycladic Art. The exhibition The Last Grand Tour presents the paintings of 17 artists of international acclaim, who lived and worked in Greece for the past 70 years. From the top representative of the flow Arte Povera the sculptor Jannis Kounellis to the sculptor of Greek origin Lynda Benglis, from the famous singer Leonard Cohen, who has a house on the island of Ydra to the versatile Иannis Xenakis - composer and architect, from the artist Helmut Middendorf who has a studio in Daphne to Cy Twombly with his pictures made on Mykonos.
From Kastelorizo to Kyparissia, from Ydra to Skopelos, from Mykonos to Epidaurus this corner of Europe gives birth and inspiration to artist. "When the economic crisis in Greece occurred I thought to introduce the today's situation in the concept. I chose to show at the Museum of Cycladic Art artists of the 20th century, who arrived in Greece as modern explorers, they stayed here, got influenced and made their creations here," tells the curator of the exhibition to Ta Nea newspaper.
In brief, the visitors will see in the museum a sculpture of Lynda Benglis, who shares her time between New York, Kastelorizo and India. The head of the goddess Athena by the Czech artist Marcus Lüpertz, who lives in Kyparissia, the black and white garden in Skopelos of the Lebanese-American poet and artist Etel Adnan - the daughter of a Greek Christian and a Muslim from the island of Syros. Deloski odes by Cy Twombly are a series of charts created during the first visit of the painter to the Cycladic Islands in 1961. The series of sculptures by Daniel Spoerri Magie a la noix, made during his stay in Simi and the legendary MOMAS (Museum of Modern Art Syros) by Martin Kippenberger. Seventeen artists from different generations, with different techniques and quests meet in the Museum of Cycladic Art from the 15th of April to the 10th of October, 2011 and the connecting thread between them is the reference to Greece in their works.
Sometimes nostalgic, sometimes romantic the artists meet the past and the present in this place in an exhibition that reflects how the long cultural history of Greece and its geographical features have become a source of cutting-edge creative performances over the years.
"These works come from Europe, USA and Greece, from private collections, museums and foundations and it is a fascinating opportunity to see them in one place in the museum," says Jessica Morgan. "The exhibition is part of the experience of the museum to turn to a wider audience and to play an important role in the dynamic cultural centre as a place of exchanging ideas. Also, a dialogue is launched between the permanent collections of the museum and other forms of art and culture. This enables the visitors to see and to "enter into dialogue" with the archaeological exhibits of the museum by looking at them from a different perspective," says the chairwoman of the Goulandris Foundation Sandra Marinopoulou.
The visitors can attend the exhibition on Thursday, April 21, from 10 am to 8 pm for free.
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