The opening of the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s main exhibition “FANT SM S”, as part of the Festival’s titular large-scale tribute. Nikos Kessanlis, Vlassis Caniaris, Celia Daskopoulou and Jason Molfessis, four of the most prolific Greek visual artists of the second half of the 20th century who have passed away, return to the present with a series of works that changed the history of contemporary European art. The exhibition is accompanied by the photos of Dimitris Tsoumplekas, who places them under his scope and comments on them through his lens.
Orestis Andreadakis, artistic director and curator of the exhibition, took the floor, welcoming the audience: “Within the framework of our large-scale tribute to Ghosts, in addition to the movies selected by our dear partner, artistic director of the New York Film Festival and acclaimed film critic and theorist, Dennis Lim, we are hosting an exhibition, which, unlike the previous ones, does not include commissioning to young and upcoming visual artists. This year, four iconic Greek visual artists no longer in life return like ghosts in Thessaloniki, carrying along secrets, whispers and fears from the past. In the core of their works lie the arts of painting and cinema, women’s position in a patriarchal society, immigrants and all underprivileged people deprived of a stand and a voice amidst a cruel world, but also technology, once beacon of hope for a brighter future, but now eliciting fear that our precious creation destined to help us has now acquired the power to destroy us”.
Photographer Dimitris Tsoumplekas contributed to the exhibition with photos from two of his own projects, Amazon and Shipwreck with Spectator, which are intertwined with the four grand artists’ works, engaging in an intangible dialogue with them.
The guest curator of the Festival’s tribute to Fantasmas and artistic director of the New York Film Festival, Dennis Lim, took the baton and expressed his enthusiasm over the exhibitions and the distinguished artists featured in it. Moreover, he praised the way in which the exhibition’s works are interlocked in an internal discourse, while reflecting the Festival’s main tribute in a subtle and elusive way.
Duration and working hours:
Glass House (Pier Α, Port of Thessaloniki)
3-12/11/2023: 10:00-22:00
Admission: Free
Curation: Orestis Andreadakis
Production-Coordination: Thanos Stavropoulos
The assembly of the exhibition’s works was carried out with the support of the National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Kalfayan gallery, a.antonopoulou.art και CAN Christina Androulidaki, which conceded the works to the Festival. We would also like to thank the Municipality of Thessaloniki for the concession of the Glass House for the purposes of the exhibition.
