Kathimerini - Greece

What gives people the strength to stand tall and keep striving for something better, even when life constantly brings them to their knees?
How can someone avoid asking, “Why me?” and instead come to see as a blessing what once felt like a curse?
Do love and faith truly carve new paths, or is that belief just romantic and naïve?

With these questions in mind, I recently stepped across the threshold of the home of Greek-Americans Krisann (Chrysanthi) and Euthym Kontaxis in Rancho Mirage, a town of nearly 20,000 residents near Joshua Tree National Park.
Their son, Nicholas, now 29 years old, was born with an inoperable brain tumor, which has caused epilepsy and neurodiversity — meaning differences in how his brain processes and functions. Over time, he’s gradually lost certain motor abilities and the capacity for speech — yet he communicates constantly through painting.

In the United States, Nicholas Kontaxis is regarded as one of the most promising young artists. He was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list of rising talent. Art critics praise the “impressively structured chaos” he creates using a mix of media — pencil, oil, and acrylics — and often compare him to Sam Francis, Jasper Johns, and even Jackson Pollock.
His works have been acquired by collectors such as Roger Federer, Adele, the LA Chargers rugby team, and companies like Adidas for their private art collections.

More than a thousand people attended the opening night of his first solo exhibition in 2017 at De Re Gallery on Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. Since then, his work has been exhibited in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Palm Springs, and other American cities — as well as in London.

Now, it is finally Athens’s turn.
From March 18, for two months, his works will be on display at the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation Museum in Pangrati, in a powerful exhibition titled “Catch Me” — the phrase Nicholas would say as a child whenever he sensed an oncoming seizure.