What was the artistic activity in Thessaloniki in the second half of the twentieth century? This study explores in depth the artistic production and its creators in the capital city during the crucial fifty years after the Second World War and the period of the Civil War.

Artistic production means the art of painting, sculpture, graphic arts, photography, architecture and visual interventions in space. Given that historical, social and economic contexts influence the development of art and culture, the course of the visual arts and the conditions of their creation are examined, the cultural data are analysed, their intercultural character is presented, and finally the genres and the artistic potential active in the city of Thessaloniki during this period are recorded.

The inclusion of the works in the international artistic horizon is a necessary condition. Consequently, references to concepts of modernism, postmodernism, globalisation and other aspects of contemporary art are constant and enlightening in terms of the form and content of the works. Moreover, critical commentary on historical situations and cultural and social events were among the author’s priorities, as they constitute the context for the formation of art in Thessaloniki and throughout Greece.

Markella-Elpida Tsichla is a PhD in Art History and a museologist.