At the time when in the theaters of the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival ghosts are coming out, through 33 films – diamonds of world cinema, at the Glass House exhibition space, on Pier 1 in the Port of Thessaloniki, four “ghosts” also wake up and present their work .

These are some of the most important Greek visual artists of the second half of the 20th century, who have passed away and “return” to our present, with works that changed the history of modern European art.

“As part of the central tribute to ghosts, we are also holding an exhibition, which – unlike other years – was not an assignment to new artists, but was the return of four artists who are no longer alive and as … ghosts came to Thessaloniki for to bring some secrets, some whispers, some fears from the past”, said Orestis Andreadakis, the artistic director of the Festival, during the opening of the exhibition “F NTASM TA”.

Upon entering each room of the exhibition, the visitor enters the world of Nikos Kessanlis, Vlasis Kaniaris, Silia Daskopoulos and Jason Molfesis respectively. As a …footnote, works by today’s photographer Dimitris Tsoumplekas, “comment” on the exhibits of the four.

“After Orestes had made the selection of the works of the four artists, I looked through my own work of the last nine years, which consists of two large sections ‘Amazon’ and ‘Wreck with Spectator’ and selected some pictures that I think speak very directly with the work of the four, and they open a kind of dialogue with them”, emphasized Mr. Tsoumplekas.

“The themes presented by the four visual artists have to do with the art of painting and cinema itself, with the position of women in a patriarchal society, with the politics of immigrants and people who have no voice and power in a cruel world and with technology which was once a hope for a better world and now is a fear that maybe the machine we hoped would help us, now we fear that it can overwhelm us and oppress us”, describes Mr. Andreadakis.

The works of Nikos Kessanlis (1930-2004) are from the series “Fantasmagories of identity”, where he had placed people behind a transparent screen, asked them to pose in different positions and move, while illuminating them with spotlights. By photographing the shadows that appeared on the screen, he achieved a huge range of shading, black and white tints and distortions of contours. The photographic comments of Dimitris Tsoumplekas belong to a series that, as he told APE-MPE, was created in Kessanlis’ workshop.

In the next room, the first rag dolls made by Vlasis Kaniaris (1928-2011) are actually clothes from which the human flesh is absent. Interspersed with these works are photographs of Chuplekas with references to worn clothes.

Next, the mainly female portraits of Silia Daskopoulos (1936-2006) are reminiscent of masks of unearthly beings and “tie” perfectly with the corresponding photographic subjects of Tsoumplekas.

Finally, by Iason Molfesi (1925-2009) the relief works that include elements of the coded language of the first computers were chosen, with materials such as polyester, plaster, metal, aluminum sheets. The accompanying photos as comments are also related to the material and textures.

“Indeed, my photos refer to notes and we chose this way of posting and presence to be discreet. We wouldn’t put a work that… “competes” with the rest”, emphasized the photographer, saying that this is where the concept of ghosts is based for him: In the lasting and permanent relationship with the previous artists.

The exhibition “FANTASM TA / FANT SM S” will last until November 12, with opening hours 10.00-22.00 and free admission.