ART-PRESENTATION: Zongolopoulos-Houliaras Messana
The city of Messene, founded in the 4th century BC, is one of the most exciting archaeological sites in Greece. Most of the area of Ancient Messene contains the ruins of the large classical city-state of Messene refounded by Epaminondas in 369 BC, after the battle of Leuctra and the first Theban invasion of the Peloponnese. Epaminondas invited the return to their native land of all the families that had gone into exile from Messenia during its long struggle with and servitude under the military state of Sparta, now finished as a conquering state. This new Messene, today’s Ancient Messene, was constructed over the ruins of Ithome, an ancient city originally of Achaean Greeks, destroyed previously by the Spartans and abandoned for some time.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: George Zongolopoulos Foundation &
Society of Messenian Archaeological Studies Archives
What many of the visitors may not realise is that Messene is a highly unusual site in Greece, Messene has the unusual distinction that, nothing is older than the 4th century BC. That makes for a stark contrast with famous Greek cities such as Athens or Corinth and sanctuaries such as Delphi and Olympia, where Archaic and Classical (6th an 5th century BC) architecture are key points of interest. In the exemplarily restored city of ancient Messene (MESSANA in the Doric dialect), the exhibition “Zongolopoulos – Houliaras: Messana” are on presentation 11 sculptures by George Zongolopoulos and 11 sculptures by Giorgos Houliaras, two of the most prominent Greek sculptors. The artworks are large – scale in their whole and intended for the exterior space, resistant to their raw material and of Doric order*, in terms of their conception and execution, with mythological and historical references, in a direct dialogue between them and the ancient site, were chosen by Angelos Moretis, Architect and Director of the George Zongolopoulos Foundation, by Giorgos Houliaras, Professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts in Greece, and by the Curator of the exhibition, Iris Kritikou and with close collaboration with its decades-long excavator and President of the Society of Messenian Archaeological Studies, Professor Petros Themelis. George Zongolopoulos was born on 1903, after the end of his military service In 1924 he entered the Athens School of Fine Arts, from 1926 to 1928 Zongolopoulos worked as an assistant of the architect Anastasios Orlandos in the Department of Restoration of Ancient and Byzantine Monuments of the Greek ministry of Education. In 1938, after his return from Parishe resigned from his position in the ministry in order to devote himself to sculpture. In 1949 Zongolopoulos was granted a scholarship by the French government. During the 1960s, Zongolopoulos gave emphasis on geometrical forms. He also introduced a number of artworks made of bronze that are known for their architectural structure based on plates which were placed due to welding methods. In 1971 Zongolopoulos made an impact in Greek Art by becoming one of the first Greek artists who adopted and introduced Kinetic Art in Greece. A major factor during Zongolopoulos occupation with that genre was the usage of water power and light in his creations, which were mostly created with stainless steel. In 1988 Zongolopoulos introduced to the audience his “Umbrellas”, a theme repeated the following years, in 1993 he presented a solo exhibition during the 45th Venice Biennale directed by Achille Bonito Oliva, where his most remarkable exhibit was a hydrokinetic version of his “Umbrellas” series while two years later he was praised for another version consisting of a static group of floating umbrellas based on diagonal axes. Zongolopoulos died on 11/5/2004. Giorgos Houliaras was born in 1947, he studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1965-1970) under Yannis Pappas. He continued his studies on an EOEX scholarship in England and then in Paris, where he attended César’s sculpture workshop at the École des Beaux Arts and the pottery programme of the École Superieure des Arts et Metiers. Initially he uses materials which underscore the solidity of forms, such as stone (mainly limestone), cement, terracotta and metal. He creates sculptures and reliefs that usually start from the human figure, with a tendency towards formalisation that alludes to Greek folk art and archaic sculpture. Later he moves on to more abstract renderings while expanding his range of materials to include marble, bronze, steel, aluminium, iron, glass… The different qualities of each material become part of the sculptural creation. In 1978 he joins other colleagues in setting up the Sculptors’ Union to promote contemporary sculpture through open-air exhibitions. His interest in promoting contemporary sculpture in public spaces is reflected in his active participation in committees and various collective bodies as well as in organising sculpture symposia in various Greek cities. He worked as professor of sculpture at ASFA (2001-2014). He also served as a Vice-rector at ASFA (2003-2006).
*The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture, the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. It was the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above.
Info: Curator: Iris Kritikou, Archeological site of Messene, Mauromati Messinias, Duration: 14/7-30/9/18, Days & Hours: Daily 8:00-20:00, www.zongolopoulos.gr & www.ancientmessene.gr
