Travel to Arcadia through the Hilton Athens

Travel to Arcadia through the Hilton Athens

The Hilton Athens will host a group show titled "Journey to Arcadia", featuring four young Greek artists and curated by recognised Belgian art historian Els Hanappe, from 11 February to 26 March.

Arcadia is one of the Peloponnese prefectures known for its mountainous terrain that makes access difficult. It functions symbolically here, as since antiquity it has been used as a place of refuge which gradually, through the references of artists and painters, came to represent a fictional paradise where life remained uncorrupted and happy, where nature is untouched and the landscape idyllic. In any case, the sense of heaven on earth inspired by this region has been recorded marvelously in two famous paintings: "Arcadian Shepherds" (1638-40) by Nicolas Poussin and "Pilgrimage on the Isle of Kythira" (1717) by Jean-Antoine Watteau.

The artists on exhibit use a variety of techniques to comment on the changes that have taken place in the conditions and the perception of the way we travel, the consequences of tourism and the limited concept we have of the topography of our destination. Maria Konti uses carbon paper to create copies of sketches made by Athenian visitors of the 19th century. Giorgos Stergiou paints landscapes filtered through his emotions with oil on canvas. Apostolos Karastergiou is mainly interested in the perception of culture in relation to nature and preserves the memory of plants in the Galaxy Bar. Finally, Eleni Kamma uses blueprints to insert the imprints of real plants onto photographs or floor plans of nuclear power plants.

The works will be exhibited in the Lobby and in the Aethrion Lounge at the Hilton Athens.