The Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, with the support of the Takis Foundation, honours the centenary of the birth of artist Panayiotis Vassilakis – known as Takis (1925-2019) – with a major retrospective exhibition titled Takis 1∞, presented simultaneously at both its museums, in Athens and Andros, from June 22 to November 2, 2025.

Magnetic Brain (detail), 2005.
Aluminium, polystyrene sphere, painted iron, magnets, 142 × 155 cm.
Takis Foundation Collection
© Takis Foundation – Research Center for the Art and the Sciences / ADAGP, Paris / OSDEETE, Athens 2025

For the first time in the Foundation’s history, all its museum spaces dedicated to temporary exhibitions – both in Athens and Andros – are entirely devoted to a single exhibition. Takis 1∞ spans the entire artistic trajectory of Takis, which stretched across nearly seven decades. Every significant phase in the artist’s life is highlighted through more than 150 works – sculptures, drawings and jewellery – accompanied by cinematic references to ephemeral works and creations.

Erotic Takis, 1991.
Iron, magnet, nails, 32 × 43 cm.
Takis Foundation Collection
© Takis Foundation – Research Center for the Art and the Sciences / ADAGP, Paris / OSDEETE, Athens 2025

The large-scale tribute to Takis holds special significance for the B&E Goulandris Foundation. It honours the long-standing friendship between the founders, Basil and Elise Goulandris, and the artist while also offering a unique opportunity to spotlight Takis’ fundamental influence on the international art scene. The exhibition also coincides with the reopening of the Old Wing of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Andros which, now renewed, once again opens its doors to the public.

A view from the exhibition in Athens

Takis, a true cosmopolitan, expressed through his art concerns that transcended pure aesthetics and he approached every new chapter of his artistic journey with passion and enthusiasm. The exhibition invites us to reposition Greece at the heart of artistic creation through the lens of a complex, rebellious, demanding and at the same time irresistible artist.

SeaOscillation (detail), 1979.
Magnets, metalandplasticstringon board, 185 × 185 cm.
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation Collection
© Takis Foundation – Research Center for the Art and the Sciences / ADAGP, Paris / OSDEETE, Athens 2025

B&E Goulandris Foundation, Athens

The Magnetic Fields, the part of the exhibition on display in Athens, is consecrated to the long and fertile relationship that Takis cultivated with magnetic fields, a landmark in his course that dates back to 1959. From his first Télésculptures until his last Magnetic Fields in 2018, the journey includes the groundbreaking performance The Impossible – A Man in Space, his Télépeintures, Télélumières, Magnétrons, Magnetic Nowhere, Magnetic Walls, Magnetic Paintings and Electromagnetic Spheres, as well as his illustrious Musical Works. Through magnetism, Takis explored what he liked to describe as the fourth dimension: a space we often perceive as empty, yet one that is constantly animated by forces that not only elude us, but govern our lives down to the smallest detail.

Exploring magnetism through Takis’ lens is a delightful and moving adventure that calls for metaphysical reflections. For Takis, everything is magnetism.

A view from the exhibition in Athens

Museum of Contemporary Art, Andros

At the Museum of Contemporary Art in Andros all the pivotal stages in Takis’ work are presented, those that were of decisive importance to him, through the successive upheavals that marked his career.

The Foundation’s aim is to highlight a more complete, and rather overlooked, aspect of his artistic journey: his early works, which reveal the influences that shaped him as well as his ability to extricate himself from his self-taught training; his Flowers and Idols, re-imaginings of flora and fauna through a metallic prism; his Inner Spaces, Magnetic Voids and Spheres that compelled him to pursue his exploration of materials; his Dials and Electronic Reliefs, paradoxical pieces that underscore the omnipresence of technology in our lives, but also the fact that each element of daily life can hide some unsuspected visual beauty; his Spirals, an intoxicating journey into the aesthetic mysteries of geometry; and his lesser known Erotic Works, indicative of the powerful return of the body in his work. These works, so diverse in terms of materials, conception and symbolism, further feature the iconic Signals that first appeared in 1955, to ultimately become one of the most recognisable sculptural groups of the 20^th century.

A view from the exhibition in Andros

B&E Goulandris Podcasts 

As part of the anniversary tribute, the Foundation is launching its first podcast series titled “B&E Goulandris Podcasts: an audio dive into the enchanting world of Art”.

The first segment of the series features five episodes that trace the eventful life of Takis: from his youth during the Occupation in Greece, his artistic journey with stops in Paris, London and New York, to his return to Athens, on the hill of Gerovouno, and the founding of the Takis Foundation and research centre.

Through rare audio archives, insightful conversations with the exhibition’s curators and untold stories from people who knew him personally, listeners immerse themselves in Takis’ explosive universe and experience his works with fresh eyes and ears.

The podcasts will be available from June 22 on all platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music etc.), on goulandris.gr and in the Foundation’s temporary exhibition spaces via QR codes.

Άποψη της έκθεσης στην Άνδρο

Exhibition catalogue, guided tours & educational programmes

The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive catalogue, available in Greek and in English.

Guided tours are scheduled in both Athens and Andros, in Greek and English, and group or private tours can also be arranged upon request. A specially designed interactive tour will also take place at the Athens Museum.

A view from the exhibition in Andros

Additionally, as part of the exhibition, creative workshops will be held for children aged 5-7 and 8-12 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Andros from July 23 to August 31, and at the Athens Museum from September to November. The workshops are in Greek.

Information:

Curators:
Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, Head of Collections at the B&E Goulandris Foundation
Toby Kamps, Head of the Modernist Collection at the Hamburger Kunsthalle

Scientific Advisor:
Penelope Sideri, Vice President of the Takis Foundation

Set Design:
Paraskevi Gerolymatou, Andreas Georgiadis

Exhibition Duration:
22 June-2 November 2025

Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation
13 Eratosthenous, Athens 11635
Τ: 210 725 2895
[email protected] | goulandris.gr

Opening Times: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday 10.00-18.00
Friday 10.00-20.00
Closedon Tuesday

Museum of Contemporary Art

Chora, Andros 84500
Τ: 22820 22444
[email protected]

Opening Times: Daily 11.00-15.00 & 18.00-21.00, Monday 11.00-15.00
Closed on Monday afternoon & Τuesday