Images of old Athens at Technopolis

"Giorgos Savakis: Images of Old Athens" is a retrospective exhibition of work by the well-known folk artist being staged at the City of Athens Technopolis. Sources of inspiration for the work include the childhood memories of the Athenian artist, his experience of everyday life in the early 20th century, as well as the history of Greece, as he depicts landscapes, folk celebrations, traditional costumes, characters and highlights from life in old Athens. Using no outlines, he painted directly using colours that he made himself, improvising until he achieved the effect he was after. The show will run from 24 February through 17 March.

The paintings and drawings will be accompanied by a wealth of audio-visual material, giving visitors the opportunity to come into contact with the artist's wall paintings which still adorn many of the traditional tavernas in the Plaka district.

The goal of the exhibition being hosted by Technopolis is to revive old Athens through the retrospective presentation of the work of Athenian artist Savakis and through it, to bring old Athens back to life, as part of a general effort to promote Greek naïve-folk artists. The incentive was our desire to prove that the harmonious co-existence of yesterday and today is possible in a location such as Fournous ("ovens") in Gazi, which combines memory with the need for artistic creativity.

Instrumental in making this exhibition possible was the contribution of the Museum of Greek Folk Art, as well as that of traditional restaurants in Plaka which lent works from their collection, and ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Company), which provided audio-visual material from its archives.

A bilingual (Greek-English) catalogue, sponsored by Technopolis and the City of Athens Cultural Organisation, will be published for the show.