SOTIRIS SOROGAS
To Time and to Silence

Opening of the new temporary exhibition of the Society of Cretan Historical Studies / Historical Museum of Crete SOTIRIS SOROGAS | To Time and to Silence, with works by the distinguished artist from the Zacharias G. Portalakis Modern Art Collection.


This is the fifth temporary exhibition co-organised by the SCHS and the collector, following Divinity, (Dis)continued (works by Parthenis, Tsarouchis, Stamos and Kapralos), Dialogue with the Invisible (works by Jannis Spyropoulos), Teratologies (works by Diamantis Diamantopoulos) and the exhibition On the Move, dedicated to Alexis Akrithakis on the occasion of 25 years since his death.

The exhibition SOTIRIS SOROGAS | To Time and to Silence presents 12 monumental works and seven silkscreens displayed in the first floor temporary exhibition room, next to the permanent exhibition of the Collection of Post-Byzantine Icons (15th - early 20th c.), donated by collector Zacharias Portalakis to the Historical Museum of Crete, and the Museum Amphitheatre. The 19 representative works by the artist cover an artistic career spanning five decades, from the beginning of his early artistic pursuits to his most recent creations.

Imposing works, of poetic expression and simple means, speak of the birth of matter and its existence. The inscription of Time on matter and the depiction of decay, the way in which the metaphysical element emerges from this magnification of the commonplace, the power of Silence and the close relationship of Sorogas’s art to poetry, the treatment of pure white light, the deliberate Doric simplicity of his expressive means, are some of the specific, finer issues arising from the artist’s painterly proposal and analysed in the exhibition catalogue: in texts by Mary Michailidou (Art Historian, Honorary Director General of the Ministry of Culture), Dora Iliopoulou-Rogan, (PhD, Art Historian & Art Critic, Officier des Arts et Lettres) and George-Byron Davos (PhD, Aesthetics and Philosophy of Language).


The official opening of the Sotiris Sorogas exhibition will take place in the near future, depending on epidemiological developments.

The exhibition catalogue of the same name, already available here, was edited by Katerina Logotheti. The art design of the printed material is by Dimitris Kalokyris, with processing by Indigo Graphics, graphic design by PencilCase and printing by Fotolio. The detailed colour catalogue (Greek & English) is available from the HMC shop and e-shop. The exhibition is accompanied by a free brochure in Greek and English (printed by TYPOKRETA ΑΒΕΕ).

Exhibition Curation
The exhibition was organised by the scientific, administrative and technical staff of the Museum, coordinated by the President of the SCHC Professor Alexis Kalokerinos and under the care of collector Zacharias Portalakis. The exhibition was curated by Denise-Chloe Alevizou, Angeliki Baltatzi and Despina Pertselaki.

Sponsors
Special thanks are due to the Region of Crete and the A. & M. Kalokerinos Foundation, steadfast supporters of the work of the SCHS.

Parallel events
The fifth exhibition of contemporary art at the Historical Museum of Crete will be accompanied, as were the previous temporary exhibitions, by lectures, free educational programmes for schools, and workshops.

A few words about Sotiris Sorogas


Sotiris Sorogas was born in Athens in 1936. He won a state scholarship to the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he was taught by Yannis Moralis, graduating in 1961. In 1972 he received an annual personal grant from the Ford Foundation and travelled to the US, the UK and Italy to study contemporary art trends.


From 1962 to the present he has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad, and has participated in many international events (São Paulo Biennial, Baden-Baden Engraving Biennial, Europalia in Brussels, etc.). He is a founding member of the Contemporary Art Association, a member of the Group for Communication and Education in Art, and a member of the editorial committee of Speira art review. From 1964 to 2003 he taught at the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens. He is now Professor Emeritus of the NTUA.


Sotiris Sorogas was awarded the Academy of Athens prize in 2004 for his artistic contribution as a whole.

 


SOTIRIS SOROGAS | TO TIME AND TO SILENCE

Admission includes entry to the temporary exhibitions of the Historical Museum of Crete.

Information: 2810-283219, Ext. 101
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