MONTH IN REVIEW: January 2024
A roundup of this month’s art and design news about the makers and creators from Greece and Cyprus
Dimitris Papamitsos / Greek Prime Minister's Office
161 Cycladic antiquities are now displayed at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met)
Cycladic antiquities from the collection of philanthropist Leonard N. Stern are now on display at the MET. This display is a result of a landmark 50 year partnership among the Greek Ministry of Culture of the Hellenic Republic, The Met, and the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens. This is part of a solution to repatriate the works to Greece, while making them available to the Met’s global audience and fostering the study and appreciation of Early Cycladic art and culture. The agreement between these parties notes that the works belong to Greece and that the long-term loan is authorized by the state.
This collection will be on view for 10 years. It includes artifacts that are primarily from the Early Bronze Age (3200 to 2000 BCE) and Late Neolithic period. Marble figurines, vessels, bowls, and other objects will be displayed. The MET has planned programming that is tied to this collection and it will hold residencies for Greek scholars and organize a symposium on Cycladic art.
After 10 years on view, select works will periodically travel to Greece over 15 years for display with other loans of Cycladic art to the Met. Following this 25 year loan period, important works of Cycladic art will continue to be loaned to the Met from Greece for an additional 25 years.
This collection of accolades includes the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for Emma Stone, and Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actress. It is nominated for 11 Oscars.
This movie is based on a 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray. It stars actors Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe. This Frankensteinian movie is about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a woman brought back to life by the unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. “Lanthimos charts the gradual improvement in Bella’s synchronicity (between her mental age and her body), as her understanding blossoms from the childlike into the mature. If that makes the film sound like no fun at all, don’t worry. Only very rarely is it not fun,” says Anthony Lane in his review of the film for The New Yorker.
® Museum of Cycladic Art
Local residents and officials in Greece are pushing back on the growth of real estate developments on the islands
Local residents and officials on Greek islands are starting to push back on the flood of foreign investment and development which are causing water shortages on the islands, altering their landscape and cultural heritage, and making housing unaffordable for local residents and workers. The New York Times reported on the effects that Greece’s tourism model is having on the islands and highlighted the individuals and institutions that are trying to preserve these landscapes.
According to the Bank of Greece, 30.9 million people visited Greece in the first 10 months of 2023. This was an increase of 17 percent over the previous year and surpassed pre-pandemic levels. While tourism is crucial to the country’s economy, locals feel the prioritization of advancements that cater to foreign visitors should be reconsidered.
In a call to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the Cycladic islands, The Museum of Cycladic Art launched Cycladic Identity late last year. It is a new initiative that aims to actively contribute to the protection of the Cycladic islands through programs in partnership with local communities and visitors. Olga Kefalogianni, the country’s tourism minister, also claimed that growth in this sector must be more contained.
Ali Cherri, The Watchman (2023). Video. 26 min. Exhibition view: Dreamless Night, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC), Bergamo (8 October 2023–14 January 2024). Courtesy GAMeC and Fondazione In Between Art Film. Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri.
Lebanese artist Ali Cherri’s exhibition entitled Dreamless Night centers on The Watchman, a short film about a Turkish-Cypriot solder
The Watchman follows a Turkish-Cypriot soldier as he mans a watchtower on the dividing line between the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus. The soldier is placed in an atemporal space where the tension between the two territories is palpable and a ghostly army emerges.
Cherri finds geopolitical parallels between Nicosia, the world’s last divided capital, and Beirut, which was divided during the Lebanese Civil War. While these parallels and histories are not discussed in the film, the shadow of war and the expectations of soldiers is. This short was filmed in Cyprus and features real people not actors, a signature of Cherri’s work. It is part of the artist’s Geographies of Violence series where the starting point is always a land in conflict, he says.
The exhibition is also accompanied by sculptures from the artist. These include a collection of giant resin soldiers, standing soldiers cast from mud and plaster, and figures that allude to the native landscape of Cyprus such as prickly pear cacti. This exhibition is debuting at GAMeC, Bergamo before it opens at Frac Bretagne, Rennes in February.
Maria, an artist, and Dakis, an industrialist and collector, at Core: New York. The new book Deste 33+ chronicles recent art exhibits at his Deste Foundation in Greece. Photo by Emilio Madrid.
Artist Maria Joannou and her father Dakis Joannou, an industrialist and art collector, were featured in this story that touches on the importance of the bond between a father and daughter. In this spread, Maria shares, "Growing up in a world of creative ideas and infinite possibilities defined by my father’s radical curiosity was fundamental in fostering a mindset where the sky is the limit.” Dakis adds, "From my daughter Maria, I learned to be uncompromising and not to undermine my values.”
