The city of Serres acquired after sixteen years of systematic efforts a contemporary museum of fine arts, thanks to the important donation of works by the great Greek and internationally renowned artist, Konstantinos Xenakis, who also bears his name.
The Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni inaugurated today at noon the new museum of contemporary art, gallery “Konstantinos Xenakis” in the presence of the Minister of Transport and Communications Costas Karamanlis, the general secretary of Modern Culture Eleni Dundoulaki, all local authorities and many people.
The Minister stressed that the new museum “complements the modern cultural physiognomy not only of Serres but of the whole of Greece“, Adding that”the generosity of Konstantinos Xenakis is expressed here in Serres with the donation of 171 of his own works “. “Xenakis”, he noted, “was a real cosmopolitan who realized the great influence that art has on a place. As an artist, he created his own visual language inspired by everyday images and objects.».
Ms. Mendoni also underlined that the museum is a huge gift that was bequeathed to the city and can be made by self-determination, emphasizing that it is a state-of-the-art art space perfectly harmonized with the environment “.
«The last exhibition of Konstantinos Xenakis“, Added the minister,”took place in the Summer of 2020, two months after his death and was organized by the Ministry of Culture. Today, we are launching a center of modern culture worthy of the artist and the rich history of Serres».
In conclusion, he warmly thanked the municipality of Serres for the invitation, while he also referred to the excellent museological study of the professors of AUTh. Matoulas Skaltsa and Panou Tzonou, who highlighted the work of the leading Greek artist.
THE Mayor of Serres Alexandros Chrysafis In his greeting he spoke of a dream of years coming true, “of a difficult and demanding task that was realized thanks to the passion and love of all parties involved.” He expressed the thanks and gratitude of Serres to the daughter of the great artist, Loukia Xenaki, who attended the event and contributed to the completion of the project.
“This museum“, Stressed the mayor,”will play an artistic and educational role, able to introduce young and old to contemporary art through the work of Konstantinos Xenakis. The new museum is a reference point for the modern cultural role of Serres».
A modern museum of culture
The vision of the pioneering artist became a reality after systematic and long-term efforts of the municipal authorities of Serres, the local community, the Association of Serrai Politia with the coordination of Xenakis’s close friend and professor at AUTh. Aristotle Naniopoulos, who donated 13 works by the artist, while in the museum-gallery there is a smaller number of works by other donors.
The museum is located in the old Papalouka camp, in which the cultural park of the municipality of Serres “Konstantinos Karamanlis” will operate, with the aim of utilizing it to the fullest extent and developing it into a cultural cradle of the local community of Serres and the wider area.
The Museum of Contemporary Art “Konstantinos Xenakis Gallery” was created in the framework of the Cultural Dipole project “Creation of a cultural dipole in the cross-border area” of the INTERREG VA program “Greece – Bulgaria 2014-2020”. It is noted that the other cultural pole, created in the framework of this project, the historical museum in Petrich, Bulgaria, which borders the P.E. Serres, inaugurates on Wednesday 18 May.
In the museum the visitor can tour the evolution of the work of the pioneering visual artist and his entire artistic path, with the use and utilization of modern technological means and audiovisual material. Konstantinos Xenakis passed away on June 6, 2020.
Who was Konstantinos Xenakis?
Konstantinos Xenakis was born in Cairo in 1931, later settled permanently in Paris, while from the 90’s he divided his time between Paris and Athens to settle permanently in recent years at his home and studio in Pagrati.
He is considered an important representative of postmodern art and his works are known for their semiology and the combination of codes, letters of different alphabets and various objects, in the personal style of the artist.
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