My involvement with art was almost law-abiding, since I was born and raised there. My mother, Annita Theoharaki, is an archaeologist and my grandparents, Vassilis and Marina Theoharaki, are the founders of the Visual Arts and Music Foundation of the same name, in the center of Athens. In addition to being a businessman, my grandfather is also a painter. Since I was a child, his image has accompanied me in the studio, where I would watch him paint, while I would sit on the floor, on the fresh tiles, trying to imitate his movements. My grandfather has a unique and mysterious connection with the canvas, a silent relationship of deep devotion. From the age of eleven I took painting lessons and, at the same time, I was also a student at the nursery school of the State School of Dance for many years. I knew deep down that I wanted to make art, without knowing exactly where that journey would take me.
After finishing my circular studies, I traveled to London to study. However, after two years, I found that this particular program did not meet my needs, as I was looking for a combination of academic subjects, covering art history and theory with practical experience. I found it in the USA and traveled to Chicago, where I stayed for about eight years. I studied five years of Fine Art and Art History and Theory and then worked in, and finally in, .
I decided to stay in Chicago because I was finding one job after another and the working conditions were excellent. But in 2016, I was invited back to Greece to work on the 14th, which was held in Athens and Kassel, Germany, the following year. The Dean of the School of Fine Arts was looking for a person to be the School’s liaison with Documenta, to facilitate artists coming to Greece and Germany. It was huge and, in my opinion, strengthened the international art scene in Athens.
After the age of 14, I was part of the production team of the acclaimed choreographer and we traveled frequently with her troupe to various art venues and theaters in Europe and America. The following year, my grandmother, Marina Theocharaki, asked me to return to Greece and work at our family foundation. My role is to curate contemporary art exhibitions and ensure the efficient functioning and modernization of the foundation at all levels and sectors.
Already having a lot of experience in assembling exhibitions and having worked in several museums and art spaces, I decided to settle permanently in Greece and help my family. My intention was to renovate the space, share it with my community, my generation and make the most of it, giving opportunities to young curators and artists from our country. All this, always respecting what already exists and the work of Mr. Takis Mavrotas and Mr. Fotis Papathanasiou, with whom we have a very good collaboration.
The union between modernist and contemporary art at the Theocharakis Foundation
My goal is for the Foundation to reach young people and for me to represent the artists of my generation and introduce them to the general public. I want to create a constructive dialogue between artists and curators, both Greek and foreign, through a combination of Modernist Art – which we have historically presented at the Foundation – and Contemporary Art. A tender dialogue where these two currents converse, without one replacing the other. As long as there is interaction and reconciliation.
In any case, my main concern is to open the doors of the Foundation in modern Athens. In 2020, we started the Foundation’s contemporary exhibition program, entitled , through which our local curators, specializing in contemporary art, present various artists in the Foundation’s intermediate spaces, which for me are equally important and interesting. The proposed works are displayed in the entrance, on the stairs, on the fifth floor or even in the courtyard. The curators work with contemporary artists who want to experiment by making different installations. In this context, there are two or three installations at the same time, by creators chosen by the curators. I am behind the scenes directing the project. In this way, the space was renovated and the modern dialogued with the pre-existing, giving the public the opportunity to discover contemporary trends, in a very discreet and current way.
Personally, I like what is happening because my life is not consumed by my work at the Foundation. I seek out these artists through gallery visits, exhibition openings, visual events, which take place in Greece and abroad. I am persistent and do not rest in my knowledge. Through constant searching, I consider it my duty to discover new creators, through unpredictable explorations, which result in the improvement and expansion of my own aesthetic. I am not limited to what I already know or what I think I know. I visit everything innovative that is happening in Athens and abroad. I also travel to the big fairs, such as in Basel, Switzerland, or to continue my personal exploration and friction with contemporary art, while at the same time following the trends, tirelessly.
In Greece there is a future for the field of Art
My grandmother always told me: “I run as if I had lost my navel”. Which means, of course, that my constant curiosity about our world never runs out. You have to constantly ask questions, even of yourself. This practice is the touchstone of self-evaluation and through it I have discovered many unique expressions in the field of curating and creating exhibitions. I think it is very important that both artists and curators are paid for their work. Wanting to change the bad texts, the first thing I did was to add to the budget of these exhibitions a separate fee for the artist and the curator. It is necessary and important to value their work, the hours spent. And because I have the responsibility of the organization I imposed this mentality, showing the respect required of the people who serve Art. I think that in Greece the conditions have started to be more favorable and there is a future for the field of Art. Galleries and museums evolve and Art moves, travels.
When people ask me what contemporary art is, I say, everything. It is what is created today. The need for communication by creators to express their time. There is a segment of the public that rejects what is not valued. But both have value. At the B. & M. Theocharakis Foundation we present mainly Greek modernist painters and art that is today considered classical because it has proven its value and its essence. I value both. The question is whether the viewer is able to take the time, pay attention, listen to hear the new, the different, the modern.
I have to admit that many modern works do not represent me as Marina does, not because I do not understand them, but because they do not cause me any deep feeling or impact. But since everything is subjective, I am too. There are projects that have an impact on me. That is how each of us evaluates Art. Furthermore, if some disagree with current trends, I respect that. In art, all opinions are respected. We must have a critical eye and express our point of view, with patience and love for differences. If this happens, we will have made significant progress. That is what interests me, that is what I consider important. Given that everyone’s recruiters are different, familiarizing yourself with the codes of Contemporary Art takes you to unknown, often wonderful worlds.
Conceptual Art represents what is happening in society at the present moment. It is a reaction to someone who wants to tell you something. After all, many great artists were recognized after they passed away. Theofilos was the “village madman” and painted for a piece of bread. For me, it was a gamble to bring young creators to the Foundation, with the aim of opening a channel of communication with what is happening outside, next to us, on the opposite sidewalk, in the smaller studios.