“Yiannis Psychopaidis: Artist’s books”: Works of art-books by…

THE Hellenic American Union presents retrospective exhibition of the great Greek painter, Yannis Psychopaidis, exclusively with “art works-books” (artist’s books)which he created during his career (1979-2023) curated by Louizas Karapidakis. The exhibition opens on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 7:30 p.m., at the Galleries of the Hellenic American Union and will last until December 22, 2023.

Yiannis Psychopaidis is one of the first Greek artists who presented artist’s books in Greece, Germany, Belgium and Italy. Along with his vast artistic journey and the illustration of a large number of literary and poetic works that are released in special editions of a limited number of copies, Yiannis Psychopaidis was also inspired by the structure of the leporello. The leporellos lend themselves to an extended narrative narrative, to develop pictorially his favorite themes. In these surfaces he integrates with his visual interventions reasonings, opinions, doubts and other associations of his critical thinking on social and political issues. He also creates a large number of polymorphic works-books, which have never been presented to the public.

The curator of the exhibition, Louiza Karapidaki, notes about the exhibition: “Artist’s books are a category of art, an autonomous genre and above all another form of artistic expression and visual experimentation, such as performances or visual installations. An artist’s book is a work of visual art and at the same time a collector’s item with the exclusive creator of the artist himself, in contrast to an art book, an illustrated book, a bibliophile edition or an art book, where the creators can be many people of different specialties, the artist , the author, the poet, the bookbinder, the graphic designer, the printer, etc. The characteristics of Psychopaides’ painting style remain unchanged in the artist’s books with the organized realist references of a fragmentary performance alluding to an idiosyncratic spirituality with meditative overtones“.

Yiannis Psychopaidis was born in Athens in 1945. From 1963 to 1968 he studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts, in the Engraving workshop. Postgraduate studies with a scholarship from the German state (DAAD) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (1971-1976), in the painting workshop with professor KF Dahmen. Member of the artistic group “A” in the 60s and member of the visual group of the magazine “Art Review”. Founding member of the “New Greek Realists” group (1971-73). Founding member of the Visual Arts Center (KET, Athens 1974-76). Member of the artistic group 10/9 in Munich (1975). Guest of the West Berlin DAAD artistic program (1977-78). From 1977 to 1986 he lives and works in Berlin. From 1986 to 1992 he lives and works in Brussels. In 1994 he was elected professor at the School of Fine Arts in Athens and in 2013 he was elected professor emeritus.

Opening: 14/11 (7.30 pm)

Info: Gallery of the Hellenic American Union | 14/11-22/12 | Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 12-8pm, Sat: 10am-2pm | Free entrance

See all the exhibitions of the city in the art guide of athinorama.gr.