The Sotiris Felios Collection and The Courtauld Institute of Art, London present the exhibition Familiar figures: (Re)interpretations of cultural narratives in the Sotiris Felios Collection curated by fellow Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau. The exhibition opens on Wednesday 15th of October 2025 at 18:00-21:00 at the project space 16 Fokionos Negri, Athens and will run until the 31st of October 2025. A public programme of guided tours and an educational workshop will take place during the exhibition.

Familiar Figures: (Re)interpretations of Cultural Narratives in the Sotiris Felios Collection is the fourth exhibition presented within the framework of the Residency Programme for Academic and Curatorial Research of Contemporary Greek Art. It marks the culmination of Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau’s six-week residency in Athens, during which she immersed herself in the city’s vibrant arts community. Through a series of studio visits with artists from the Sotiris Felios Collection, meetings with art professionals from leading museums and galleries, and exploration of contemporary exhibitions across Athens, Gatineau enriched her research and curatorial practice, gaining firsthand insight into the dynamic landscape of contemporary Greek art.

The exhibition comprises paintings and sculptures by: Yiorgos Avgeros, Emmanouil Bitsakis, Christos Bokoros, Nikos Engonopoulos, Katerina Hadoulou, Christophoros Katsadiotis, Konstantinos Kerestetzis, Nikos Kiriakopoulos, Alexis Kyritsopoulos, Alecos Levidis, Tassos Mantzavinos, Nikos Moschos, Konstantinos Papamichalopoulos, Kostas Papatriantafyllopoulos, Takis, and Yannis Tsarouchis.

CURATOR’S NOTE

The notion of myth is something one becomes familiar with from the very early stages of childhood. From bedtime stories to fairy tales, the myth ignites the imagination, all the while carrying moral and didactic weight. Far from staying enclosed in the realm of infancy, the art of storytelling permeates every aspect of daily life: from the novels we read to the history we learn, from the religious texts we study to the mythology we become passionate about, they are grounded in and shape the society we live in.

Through the lens of the Sotiris Felios Collection, this exhibition explores how contemporary Greek artists engage with these enduring narratives, both fictional and historical. By bridging the gap between past and present, they draw inspiration from centuries-old stories so as to readapt them in the light of our present era.

Taking a story from the written text to the painted or sculpted image, artists associate familiar figures with elements from their own visual vocabulary, reinterpreting them through personal symbols, speculative twists, and additional cultural layers. In doing so, the works on display transcend literal readings, allowing for a subverted representation of fictional characters and historic icons, from Don Quixote to the Virgin Mary, from Aeneas to Lenin.

These familiar characters appear altered, prompting us to question our own representation of the narratives we became accustomed to. Playfulness, irony, and at times sarcasm challenge viewers’ expectations, encouraging a re-examination of cultural memory and representation. Whether referencing pivotal historical moments or alluding to contemporary social dynamics, the works presented here keep an ambiguous and multifaceted record of collective history.

The narratives illustrated in this exhibition have, over time, attained mythical status. Shared to varying degrees by the collective imagination, these stories have become cultural signifiers of a given era, but also as mirrors of personal experiences: from familial, friendly and romantic relationships to questions of identity and future possibility.

Visually reinterpreting these stories allows the artists to draw attention to the constructed and interpretive nature of representation itself. Many of the works possess a theatrical quality, emphasizing their status as carefully crafted images: they are not objective records, but subjective expressions. While these images remain inherently visual, in this context they are deeply rooted in verbal narratives. Rather than departing entirely from language, they appear as a translation from the verbal to the visual. The viewer is thereby invited to interpret this sometimes enigmatic visual lexicon in order to enrich the meanings these narratives might otherwise hold.

The venue, at 16 Fokionos Negri, echoes these premises. Upon entering, the visitor is guided below ground level via a flight of stairs, entering a haven from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Encouraging the viewers to look within for traces of the narratives that have struck them, the space acts as an invitation to introspect so as to create symbolic bridges between one’s imagination and the artworks on view.

Narratives, even when rooted in fact, are always shaped by perspective. They are inherently symbolic, ambiguous, and open to interpretation. As tools for making sense of lived experience, stories provide a mediated lens through which we process and distance ourselves from reality. In this context, visual storytelling does more than illustrate: it layers meaning, and invites multiple readings. It is, above all, a sign of human presence.

PUBLIC PROGRAMME

Curator’s tour
Saturday 18/10, 13:00-13:45

Join curator Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau for a 45-minute tour of the exhibition Familiar Figures. Explore over 25 artworks by 16 contemporary Greek artists from the Sotiris Felios Collection and gain insights on their creative practices. Jeanne-Eugénie will guide you through the symbolic behind the works on view, allowing you to dig deeper into the cultural narratives embodied by the historic figures and fictional characters depicted in the exhibition.

The tour will be conducted in English.
Free admission.
No registration is needed.

Educational Workshop
Our Storyboard, Our World
Saturday 25.10, 12:00 – 13:30 pm

Children and teenagers aged 6–14 are invited to create a 3-meter-long collective storyboard! Inspired by the characters in the Familiar Figures exhibition, participants can draw their favourite myths and figures and mix them with the exhibition’s characters. As they create, they are invited to imagine: “What would these figures say to the world to come?” Together, they will build a fantastic hybrid world, where voices, stories, and visions from the past, present, and future merge into a living, colorful narrative.

To register, please email hello@16fokionosnegri.gr

All materials provided.

Venue: 16 Fokionos Negri, 11257 Athens

Free admission

ABOUT Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau

Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau is an art historian and emerging curator based in Paris, France. She graduated with the MA History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, where she specialised in the intersections between the verbal and the visual in contemporary art. Her research focuses on textile practices within the contemporary art scene, but her interests remain broad and span from postwar abstraction to contemporary figurative painting. With a background in literature and aesthetics, her research is interdisciplinary and rooted in decolonial and feminist studies. She has worked in museums and galleries, as well as participated in Spotlight, a student-led programme during her studies at The Courtauld, which has allowed her to work with artists first-hand, aiming at making their practice known by a broader audience.

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY PROGRAMME

The Residency Programme for Academic and Curatorial Research in Contemporary Greek Art has been a collaboration between the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Sotiris Felios Collection since 2022. It aims to create support channels for emerging curators and art historians from the Courtauld Institute of Art, to promote academic research on contemporary Greek art, to strengthen its connection with the international art scene, and to develop curatorial skills.

The Programme takes place twice a year and is structured around two distinct tracks:

Art History Research Fellowship (June/July), aimed at producing an academic paper.

Curatorial Research Fellowship (September/October), aimed at curating an exhibition or other curatorial project.

It is open to doctoral, postgraduate, and final-year undergraduate students of the Courtauld Institute of Art with an academic background in art history, theory, and curatorial practice. Each fellow follows a bespoke programme, tailored to their research and curatorial interests, combining meetings with artists, communities, and professionals in the Athens art scene, visits to artists’ studios and exhibitions, and intensive preparatory research through the study of the Sotiris Felios Collection’s archive and artworks.

For 2025, the selection of fellows was overseen by the advisory jury, consisting of:
Anna Somers Cocks, Founder, The Arts Newspaper
Klara Kemp-Welch, Reader in 20th Century Modernism, The Courtauld
Caroline Levitt, Head of the Art History Department, The Courtauld
Elisabeth Plessa, Independent Curator and Art Historian
Dora Vasilakou, Managing Director, The Sotiris Felios Collection

The Programme is implemented under the artistic direction of Dora Vasilakou with funding from the οther Arcadia Foundation and under the support and auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Greece.