Zoumboulakis Gallery is pleased to present the groundbreaking exhibition “Wow Pow! Bam! Comics and Painting, A meeting at the end of the 20^th century“, which explores the enduring effect of comics on the body of contemporary painting.

Based on a concept by visual and comics artist Spyros Verykios and co-curated with art historian Thanasis Moutsopoulos, the exhibition aims to demonstrate the ways in which contemporary artists draw inspiration from the visual and narrative conventions of comic strips, transcending the boundaries between traditional art practices and juxtapositions such as that between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art.

The exhibition focuses on two parallel developments in art in the late twentieth century, which defined new aesthetic approaches and expanded the boundaries of art as well as narration, opening up new prospects for the evolution of contemporary art. On the one hand, visual artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Philip Guston and Andy Warhol incorporated elements from pop culture into their work; on the other, comics artists such as Art Spiegelman adopted concepts and techniques of contemporary art, contributing to the emergence of new genres in art.

The exhibition “Wow! Pow! Bam! Comics and Painting, A meeting at the end of the 20^th century” attempts to present for the first time in our country this historical and seemingly incompatible relationship of the two media. The key question at its core, as Thanasis Moutsopoulos puts it, is “to what extent can comics open up into the realm of visual art, and painting in particular, and revive the attainments of such twentieth-century quests as Expressionism, Cubism and Abstraction without fully arresting the function of the narrative?” To what extent can comics open up new potential in other artistic fields while retaining their dynamic and their narrative function?

The exhibition will feature works of historical importance that are being exhibited to the public for the first time.

Featuring Works by;

Duration: 6 June– 20 July 2024

Zoumboulakis Gallery, Kolonaki Square 20

Opening Times: Tue., Thu. & Fri. 11.00 -20.00  Wed. & Sat. 11.00 –15.00 Sundays& Mondays closed