In Praise of Shadows at the Benaki Museum

An exhibition based on shadows, shadow theatre and silhouettes will take place from May 23 to 26 June at the New Benaki Museum. Much of the work is based on old and contemporary folk tales and on simple narratives, though the heart of the exhibition is the shadow theatre from Turkey and Greece, and its main character Karagöz (in Turkey) or Karaghiozis (in Greece). This exhibition will bring together key works by eight contemporary artists from seven different countries, and two master filmmakers from the first half of the 20th century.

This exhibition will explore the formal analogies and the conceptual references that a new narrative spirit in contemporary art expresses with shadow plays and, conversely, the influence this traditional art form has had on the world of contemporary art in recent years.

In Praise of Shadows will showcase works and films by the following artists:
Haluk Akakçe (Turkey)
Natalie Djurberg (Sweden)
William Kentridge (South Africa)
Katariina Lillqvist (Finland)
Jockum Nordström (Sweden)
Lotte Reiniger (Germany)
Christiana Soulou (Greece)
Ladislaw Starewicz (Poland)
Andrew Vickery (Great Britain)
Kara Walker (USA)

The exhibition is being curated by Paolo Colombo. It will run concurrently with the contemporary art fair, ART-ATHINA 2009.