The allure of the bizarre

The Allure of the Bizarre at the National Gallery, Athens.

Works by artists who embrace, explore and depict the weird, the hybrid, the unclassifiable, and the grotesque. 

The exhibigtion runs alongside an exhibition of Goya’s Los Caprichos from 1799, it spotlights contemporary interpretations of the fantastical or grotesque that the Spanish Old Master also explored. 

Celia Daskopoulou, Rivals, 1974, (oil on canvas)

Yannis Gaitis, The World's Strange Things I, 1963, (oil on panel, (door))

Malvina Panagiotidi, The Fools I-XII, 2018, (air-dry-clay)

Dionisis Kavallieratos, Equestrian Ballerino, 2020, (colour pencil on paper)

Dionisis Kavallieratos, Vagabonds of the Western World (blue), 2020, (colour pencil on paper)

Dionisis Kavallieratos, Zuchinelo, 2019, (colour pencil on paper)

Dionisis Kavallieratos, Mr Scary, 2020, (colour pencil on paper)

Tasos Mantzavinos, For my Power is Made Perfect in Weakness, 2013, (oil on canvas)

And then, this: a blank wall, no pictures but hooks and labels. A new form of artwork? No.

I asked one of the assistants and was told that the artworks were vandalised by, yes, an MP. Nikolaos Papadopoulos, MP of the far right Party, Niki (Victory). The religious fundamentalist, right-wing politician stormed into the National Gallery on March 10th, and forcibly removed and threw to the ground, four paintings by Christoforos Katsadiotis, while shouting 'they insult our religion'.

The MP was initially detailed at the museum and then by the police before he was released citing political immunity. According to reports in the Greek media, the authorities have confirmed that he will face charges of aggravated vandalism.

The gallery was forced to close on Monday but re-opened the next day. The gallery decided that the paintings should remain on the floor where they were thrown, but they were later removed so we were not able to see them. Following protests I now understand that the paintings have been reinstated, which is the right decision of course, as freedom of artistic expression has to be preserved and violent vandalism and censorship have to be opposed.

After seeing the exhibition I went to the gallery bookshop found the book on the exhibition and photographed the paintings which you can see below.

Christophoros Katsadiotis, Icon No. 1, 2021, (etching, stitching with thread, metal)

Christophoros Katsadiotis, Icon No. 2, 2021

Virgin Mary and Christ, 2021

Christophoros Katsadiotis, St Christopher, 2020, (etching, monotype - colour)

Katsadiotis has explained how he is intrigued by the ambiguity and implicitly menacing nature of religion, represented by saints 'who threaten that, if we're not on their side, we will face all manner of trials and tribulations'. He added that religion 'is the most kitsch element of our folk history - full of miracles, tragedies and curses, it is our modern mythology'.