The Alpha Bank Art Collection organizes the exhibition “WOMEN. Greek Women Artists in the Alpha Bank Collection“, at the Ionian Bank Museum in Corfu, in order to highlight the significant contribution of women in modern Greek art, despite the obstacles and discrimination they have faced in this field throughout time. At the same time, at a time when the issue of female empowerment dominates the public debate, the exhibition seeks to acknowledge the complex and often conflicting roles that women are called upon to adopt today.

Aglaia Pappa

From a total of 145 Greek women artists whose works are in the Bank’s Collection, the exhibition presents 46 representative works created by 41 women artists, unfolding an interesting journey and offering a comprehensive view of Greek art from the late 19th to the dawn of the 21st century.

Zenika Petroutsi

Each of the 4 rooms of the Museum presents a section highlighting the different aspects of women’s creativity:

1. Women in art – The first steps (late 19th – early 20th century):Pioneering artists who, at a time when women were confined to the private sphere, married life and motherhood, paved the way for the participation of women in the artistic life of Greece.

In the first room the visitor has the opportunity to discover the works of women who took their first steps in painting with verve (Eleni Prosalenti, Thalia Flora- Karavia, Athena Tarsouli, Aglaia Papa, Evridiki Kostopoulou), in engraving (Harikleia Alexandridou – Stefanopoulou, Koula Bekiari, Isabella Harbouri, Ira Economidou, Rea Leontaritou), but also in photography (Nelly’s).

Aria Komianou

      2. Painting – From representation to abstraction: women who contributed to the evolution of painting from traditional forms to abstract art, influenced by important European artistic centres.

The second room hosts works by artists who are now establishing their presence in art, evolving and daring to experiment beyond the strict limits of figuration and turn towards abstraction, such as Zenika Petroutsi, Daphne Kostopoulou, Anni Kostopoulou, Maria Rousea, Chrysa Romanou, Niki Kanagini, Opy Zouni, Vana Xenou, as well as Marigo Kassi and Irini Gonou.

Chryssa

3. Engraving – Traditional techniques and experimentation with new media: important engravers of the 20th century who gave impetus to engraving and graphic arts and newer ones who innovated, combining traditional methods with new techniques.

In the third room, purely engraved works are presented, demonstrating the female perspective and contribution to the various techniques of printmaking. Important female engravers such as Vasso Katraki, Elli Mourelou-Orfanou, Zizi Makri, Loukia Magiorou, Louiza Montesantou, Iris Drakoulis, Mariora Exarchopoulou, Rena Tzolaki, Tonia Nicolaides, Vicky Tsalamata, Aria Komianou and Dina Kotsiou are included. In the same room, 2 works by Chryssa are also presented, indicative of the woman’s contribution to sculpture.

4.Contemporary art – Renewal of the visual space:Contemporary artists expressing new aesthetic trends and topical concerns, influenced by the new digital era.

Finally, the 4th hall includes works that express contemporary quests and trends that have emerged mainly with the new digital reality, such as works by Natalia-Aikaterini Kerkyra, Daphne Kostopoulou, Gina Delassouda, Aristea Charonitis, Penny Gikas, Natasha Poulantza and Alexandra Kiritsi.

Natalia Aikaterini Kerkyra

The separation of the thematic sections is not intended to place the work of women authors in an artificial temporal sequence that simply reproduces the emphasis on the linear overview of individual cases. Instead, it attempts to frame the achievements of these women in each field of artistic creation with their contemporaneous achievements in the educational, social and political constellation.

Among the 41 women artists there are 4 from Corfu (Eleni Prosalenti, Aglaia Papa, Aria Komianou, Natalie- Aikaterini Kerkyra).

A special digital application has been designed for the needs of the exhibition, through which visitors will be able to read short biographies of the women presented in the exhibition, see more of their works, but also study their work up close. At the same time, they can obtain information about the history of the Alpha Bank Art Collection through a chronology and a video, created for the first time.

Elli Orfanou

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in Greek and English.

At the same time, a major publication was released, in Greek and English, with all the women represented in the Bank’s Collection (145 women, 226 works).

Duration: 8 October 2024 – 7 September 2025

More Information: here