Marilena Aravantinou belongs to that category of artists who have served pop art with consistency and elegance. As a set designer, she collaborated as early as the 1950s with important film and theatre directors on films and performances that were beloved and are now considered classics. Thanks to her skills and her urban background, she managed to work in a field that was until then male-dominated.

In order to devote herself to the art of set design, she left painting aside. However, the imposition of the dictatorship left her in her studio where she created works that reflect the gloomy climate of the seven years of the military junta. Her artistic production continued after the restoration of democracy with works by people of the theatre and others inspired sometimes by the urban environment of Athens and sometimes by the bright atmosphere of Aegina.

Aravantinou was recognized as a set designer, but her painting work remained largely unknown to the wider public. Her entire oeuvre is presented in the exhibition at the National Library of Greece “Marilena Aravantinou, Set Designer and Painter” curated by Spyros Moschonas.

The exhibition is accompanied by a luxurious, multi-page catalogue published by the National Library of Greece.