Monopoli - Greece
The exhibition “Catch Me” by Nicholas Kontaxis brings hope to Athens’ art scene
Starting Friday, March 18, the works of Greek-American artist Nicholas Kontaxis are being exhibited for the first time in Greece at the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation. Paintings, colors, fabrics, ashes, music, pain, laughter, and all the hope that exists – these are just some of the elements that come together in the exhibition with the perfectly fitting title: “Catch Me”.
By Maria Valtzaki
“Are you lucky enough to have someone to catch you?”
Arthur Lewis closes his curatorial text with this phrase – and I’m left with a faint smile of nostalgia and sorrow on my lips. Lewis is the curator of Nicholas Kontaxis’ exhibition “Catch Me”, which opened on Tuesday, March 18, at the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation. I know I’m starting from the “end,” but before I tell you anything else about the exhibition, the works, Nicholas’s life, and his art, I wanted you to hold on to this phrase, because in a way it encapsulates the entire experience of the exhibition.
Nicholas Kontaxis is a 26-year-old self-taught Greek-American artist living in Los Angeles. We all have something unique in our stories that sets us apart; for him, one of his many distinctive traits is the approximately 75,000 epileptic seizures he has experienced since the age of 15 months, which have limited his ability to communicate verbally. Due to a brain tumor and repeated seizures, his speech and overall condition have been affected over the years. He spends most of his waking hours in his home studio, sometimes working from a chair or lying on the floor when his condition worsens. Nicholas experiences moments of clarity, and the phrases he communicates when speaking are recorded on paper in his studio. From that list, he later selects the exceptional and beautiful (yes, that’s how I would describe them) titles for his artworks.
The work of Nicholas Kontaxis, although internationally recognized with solo exhibitions, awards, and his inclusion in the Forbes “30 Under 30” list, is coming to Greece for the first time. As both the curator Arthur Lewis and the artist’s mother and representative, Krissan Kontaxis, have expressed, this would not have been possible without the dedication and persistence of the team at the Vassilis & Elisa Goulandris Foundation. Seeing the works and listening to those who know the artist speak about him, one understands why this exhibition is so significant, personal, and deeply emotional. Lewis spoke about how, through spending time with Nicholas in his studio, for him “painting is not art, but therapy.” His mother, visibly moved, shared that this exhibition is a dream not only of Nicholas but also of hers, and that what he wants to convey through his works is that art has no boundaries—it is for everyone. With the right support, care, and space, of course, every artist, like Nicholas, can truly “be born.”
Regarding the exhibition setup itself, I must say it had been a long time since I felt this excited about the curatorial work and the choices made for an exhibition as a whole. I don’t know if it’s because I connected almost immediately with the artist’s works and saw something of what he saw when he painted them, or if I was simply projecting my own desires (ah, the definition of art). The works themselves — with materials ranging from acrylic to ash and coffee — the way they were arranged, the exceptional lighting, the varying scales of the pieces, and the enormous trampoline at the center of the space that encapsulates almost the entire story of Nicholas’s life — transformed from a rehabilitative tool into a canvas—are just a few of the elements that, for me, make this exhibition special and an experience worth living.
@monopoligr για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα το έργο του υπέροχου Νικόλα Κονταξή σε επιμέλεια Arthur Lewis στο Ίδρυμα Βασίλης & Ελίζας Γουλανδρη (18/3-18/5)🎨🧑🏻🎨🖌️🖼️ #monopoligr #fyp #exhibition #athens #goulandrismuseum #goulandrisfoundation #nicholaskontaxis #art #αθηνα #εκθεση #εικαστικά ♬ Bittersweet - Yungbc
My favorite part of the space was perhaps the faithful recreation of the artist’s studio within the exhibition, complete with photographs. From the canvases and the list of potential artwork titles, to the view outside the garage, the colors arranged on the shelves, and the speaker playing music from the artist’s playlist. The choice to combine music and art is always an excellent one — especially when done successfully, and when the music complements or elevates the artist’s works.
If I had to describe Nicholas’s art, I’d call it… rare. Not because you’ve never seen the colors he uses or the unusual materials with which he “paints” — and not even because of the massive scale of his works. Nicholas’s art is rare for the brushstrokes on his canvases. For the boldness, the energy, the passion, the youthfulness that the brush or palette knife carries when it touches the fabric on the frame.
Abstract expressionism, which his work is likely classified under, is such a vast category that you can literally get lost in the artworks. But here, chaos becomes normal. In Nicholas’s works, however, you don’t encounter the usual chaos that is often welcomed in art. When you look at his pieces, the light almost blinds you—and it’s not just the vivid colors or the exceptional lighting of the Goulandris Foundation (I mention this again because it’s important and simultaneously rare in art exhibitions), it’s that when you gaze at Nicholas Kontaxis’s paintings, it’s like staring directly at the sun.
Go see the “Catch Me” exhibition—it runs until May 18th, see Nicholas’s works, and let yourself be blinded by their light. But most importantly, let me know if you find the answer to this question:
“Are you lucky enough to have someone to catch you?”