Nakis Panayotidis, one of the most significant contemporary Greek visual artists, has returned to Greece with two exhibitions that mark his journey and unique style: a retrospective at the Vassilis and Eliza Goulandris Foundation in Athens and an exhibition-installation titled “ANAVASIS” at the Hamidiye Mosque in Chios, as part of the Chios Festival.
As the exhibition curator, Fotis Papathanasiou, writes in the catalog, the Greek-Swiss artist, whose works adorn museums of contemporary art in Europe and the USA, “uses simple and repetitive materials that create a symbolic language, attempting to provide answers, hint at solutions, and articulate the unutterable…”
“Anavasis, the title of the installation comprising five distinct works in continuous creative dialogue, serves as a catalyst for multiple aesthetic and contemplative considerations. Nakis transformed the temple into a true sanctuary of spiritual light. Into a ‘temple’ where the most contemporary art, using the simplest modern and perishable materials, performs its true function: unprejudiced and universal. Open to anyone who can and wishes to experience it.”
The exhibition will remain open until October 19, 2025.
Under the auspices of the Embassy of Switzerland in Athens, in collaboration with Tornabuoni Arte gallery..
- Catalogue Editor | Texts: Fotis Papathanasiou
- Catalogue Design: Panos Tsironis
- Catalogue Photography: Franz Schwendiman, Melina Fiorito
- Distribution: Eurasia Editions, Athens
Nakis Panayotidis: A Biography
Nakis Panayotidis, the Greek Arte Povera artist, was born in Athens in 1947.
After studying architecture in Turin (1966) and fine arts in Rome (from 1967), he settled in Switzerland in 1973. Since then, he has lived and worked between Bern and the Cycladic island of Serifos.
Artistic Philosophy and Work
In the spirit of the Arte Povera movement, Panayotidis incorporates a wide variety of materials into his works, including stone, straw, lead, iron, copper, and lamps, among others. His art combines light and life and is never static; it consistently explores opposites at the moment of equilibrium. He embraces the present moment, yet mythology and ancient art remain an integral part of his life.
Panayotidis is consistently a realist, always starting from what he sees directly in front of him. Only this holds significance. In his objects, photographic installations, paintings, and neon works, he reflects on the meaning, value, and truth of his observations. The aim of his art is to highlight and illuminate, within the fleeting, accidental image, what exists enduringly beyond the moment.
- Public collections
Galleria Civica di Modena
Kunstmuseum Bern
Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
Contemporary Art Museum of Crete
Villa Croce Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Genova
Centre d’Art contemporain Épinal
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Athens
MudaC, Museo d’arte di Carrara
UNO Genève
Hess Collection Bern / Napa, California
- Solo exhibitions (A selection)
1974
Galerie Wahlen, Bern
1975
Galerie Meyer, Lausanne
1979
Galerie Arnold-Hostettler, Bern
Galerie Schroer, Krefeld
Centro Internazionale di Sperimentazioni Artistiche, Boissano
1980
Galerie M.-L. Jeanneret, Genf
1981
Sychroni Haraktiki Gallery, Athens
1982
Galerie Littmann, Basel
Galleria Numerosette, Napoli
Oraisma Gallery, Athens
1983
Galleria M. Bonomo-Centosei, Bari
1984
Berner Galerie, Bern
Galleria Tommaseo, Trieste
1985
Galerie Hannah Feldmann, Bern
1986
Galerie des Bastions, Genève
Galerie Hannah Feldmann, Bern
1987
Galleria M. Bonomo-Centosei, Bari
Studio Gianni Caruso, Torino
1988
Galerie Patrick Roy, Lausanne
1989
Galerie Hannah Feldmann, Bern
Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens
1990
Galerie Blancpain Stepzinsky, Genève
1991
Galerie Hannah Feldmann, Bern
Galerie Trésor d’art, Saanenmöser
1992
Galerie Nota Bene, Cadaqués
1993
Galerie Rigassi, Bern
1994
Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens
Nakis Panayotidis. Mnemographie, Kunstmuseum Bern
1995
Gelerie Lehmann, Lausanne
98
1996
Ronald Jones, Nakis Panayotidis, Thomas Ruff, Contemporary
Art Museum of Crete, Crete
Galerie Henze & Ketterer, Wichtrach, Bern
1999
Galerie Henze & Ketterer, Wichtrach, Bern
2000
Uchronos-Utopos, Kunsthalle Erfurt
2001
Beyond Architectural Visions, Hess Collection, London
2003
Galerie Henze & Ketterer, Wichtrach,Bern
Nakis Panayotidis. Viaggiando la luce, Palazzo Ducale, Museo
per I’Arte Moderna, Genova
Direzioni Luminose, Tornabuoni Arte, Firenze
2004
Direzioni Luminose, Tornabuoni Art, Crans-Montana
2005
Ladro di luce, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki
2006
Wörter und Worte, Galerie Henze & Ketterer, Wichtrach, Bern
EXIL, Galerie Henze & Ketterer, Wichtrach, Bern
MIRA, SEA Simposium Escultura Alicante
NUDE, Centro d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea della Spezia,
La Spezia
La natura siamo noi, Tornabuoni Arte, Milano
2007
No Limits, No Distances, La Lune en Parachute Centre d’Art
Contemporain, Epinal
Un viaggio in maschera, Galleria Giacomo Guidi Arte
Contemporanea, Roma
Orizzonti possibili, Tornabuoni Arte, Venezia
2008
Lightmemory, Galerie Henze & Ketterer, Wichtrach, Bern
2009
La forza del sogno, Artis Causa Gallery, Thessaloniki
2010
Ivresse Révée, Tornabuoni Art, Paris
2012
Galleria Civica di Modena, Palazzina dei Giardini, Modena
2014
Nakis Panayotidis. Das Unsichtbare sehen / Nakis Panayotidis.
Seeing the Invisible, Kunstmuseum Bern
2015
Nakis Panayotidis, Guardando l’invisibile, Macro Museo d’arte
Contemporanea di Roma, Roma
2017
La tempête et le jesmine, Steinmann foundation, Schloss Wyl/
Bern
Hess Collection Museum, Napa, California
2018
Elegie Dipinte, galleria civica di Andora (SV)2024
Shut your eyes and see, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation,
Athens
2025
ANABASIS, Hamidiye Mosque, The Chios Festival, Chios
THE CHIOS FESTIVAL | 4ο Φεστιβάλ Χίου | Ολες οι Δράσεις
THE CHIOS FESTIVAL | 4ο Φεστιβάλ Χίου | Πρόγραμμα
Ομιλίες στο Castelli, 29/08/2025, 19:00
Ομιλίες στο Castelli, 1/9/2025, 19:00
Ομιλίες στο Castelli, 2/9/2025, 19:00
Ομιλίες στο Castelli, 3/9/2025, 19:00
SPONSORS OF THE CHIOS FESTIVAL 2025:
ΧΟΡΗΓΟΙ ΕΠΙΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑΣ
WE PRESENT : POLITISTIKA DROMENA OF NORTH AEGEAN REGION
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We present The Chios Festival | 3 Years : 2022 – 2024 (English)
We present Sappho Lesvos Festival
The Chios Festival – Agenda 2025
The Chios Festival – Agenda 2025 (English)
Sappho Lesvos Festival – Agenda 2025
We present Dimitra Moutzouri, A vision with aura and perspective for Greece
We present 3 years of cultural activities at The Chios Festival
