For this year’s Residency Programme for Academic and Curatorial Research of Contemporary Greek Art we welcomed Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau in Curatorial Research Programme, from September 10 to October 25, 2025. Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau was selected by a committee consisting of: Anna Somers Cocks OBE, Founder of the “Arts Newspaper”, Klara Kemp-Welch, Vice-Dean for Research, The Courtauld, Caroline Levitt, Head of Art History Department, The Courtauld, Prune Engerant, President of the Students’ Union, The Courtauld, Elisabeth Plessa, Art historian-Curator, and Dora Vasilakou, Managing Director, The Sotiris Felios Collection.

Jeanne-Eugénie Gatineau is an art historian and emerging curator based in Paris, France. She recently graduated 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.

Jeanne-Eugenie spent 6-weeks in Athens where she was introduced to artists and leading art professionals living and working in Athens, while also had the chance to engage in extended conversations with curators and museum directos in Athens. Based on her proposal on a critical re-reading of cultural narratives in contemporary art in Greece, a bespoke programme of studio visits, discussions and exhibition tours was designed, centering around memory, myths as lived narrative and collective storytelling between past and present.

Jeanne-Eugenie’s research culminated into the exhibition “Familiar figures: (Re)interpretations of cultural narratives in the Sotiris Felios Collection”. The exhibition included more than 25 paintings, sculptures and photographs from The Sotiris Felios Collection created by more than 15 artists. For its presentation, Jeanne-Eugenie conducted research through archival material, interviews, museum visits and books reading, while also planning and executing the organisation of the exhibition and the public programme.

THE EXHIBITION

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.

Artistic Director of the Residency Programme: Dora Vasilakou
Organised and supported by The other Arcadia Foundation.
Under the auspices and financial support of the Greek Ministry of Culture.