Fifteen years after his retirement from the Epigraphic Museum, the artist Elias Kassis returns with his stone heroes. The exhibition is hosted in the Museum’s temporary exhibition space, where the artist began his involvement with sculptures of antiquity, making castings for the National Archaeological Museum.

In five sections, some of the most representative works of his multi-layered work, which moves between modernism and popular tradition, are presented: expressionist busts, nymphs and mermaids, erotica, refugees and Heroes of the 21st century.

Elias Kassis was born in 1943 in Palyros, Mani. Rock, sun, sea, the bare landscape of the mountainous Mani, were the first images that inspired his love for the stone that he had been “painting” since he was a small child.

He worked at the Ministry of Culture (National Archaeological Museum, Archaeological Resources Fund, Epigraphic Museum), where he was involved with the casts and immersed himself in the art and technique of ancient Greek sculptures. Self-taught, free and uninfluenced by schools and trends, Elias Kassis excelled in many fields of art: sculpture, painting and poetry. He sculpted stone creating small wonders. He chooses his material from nature: stone, clay, slate, slate, pumice, glass, tile, walnut, olive and cypress wood. These “cheap” materials become the basis for him to create forms that refer to ancient Greek mythology, modern history, his experiences, human relationships: heroes of the Revolution, the acrocerama with Athena, mermaids, theatre masks, contemplative old men, the mother-child embrace, the kiss of lovers. His Dionysian and Apollonian themes, the figures idealized yet realistic, emanate a sublime serenity and inner strength. The expression of the face and gaze, the structure of the body, the movement, give a convincing picture of the human form.

His works have been presented in solo and group exhibitions and have received excellent reviews and honours. (Gallery “NOE” – 1968, “Parnassos” Gallery – 1972 & 1976, Gallery “New Thought” – 1974, “Art Gallery” – 1975, Gallery “Circle”, Foyer of the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, Gallery “Ora”, “Cretan Hestia” etc.).

Exhibition Duration: 30 April– 22 May 2025

Days and Times: Monday– Sunday 10:00 – 20:00

Admission free