ATHENS.- A group exhibition dedicated to the art of contemporary printmaking, seen through the work of eight artists who live and work in Athens, Greece: Zacharias Arvanitis, Kati Mahrt, Konstantinos Papamichalopoulos, Miltiadis Petalas, Despina Kotalakidou, Florence Christakis, Akis Pirounidis and Nikos Stavrakantonakis.

This exhibition Contemporary Print Art from Athens, on view June 17th through September 18th, is organized in collaboration with the Athens School of Fine Arts (curator: Michalis Arfaras, director of the Printmaking department) and the Culture, Sports and Youth Organization of the City of Athens.

“This exhibition constitutes a tribute to the handmade relief print, the true mother of the imprint processes and the magic woven by this old but yet so modern artistic expression” notes the curator Michalis Arfaras. “In the beginning of the 21st century, when electronic printing replaced the conventional printing techniques, the relief print made by hand returned, irrevocably, to the artists’ studios. Thus the printed image underwent a renaissance as an authentic form of artistic creation. Contemporary artists use the various printmaking methods and techniques of expression to create original works that often exist in a very small number of copies or are unique”.

Zacharias Arvanitis was born in Athens in 1947 and attended the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA) from 1969 to 1973, studying painting under Yannis Moralis and stage design under Vassilis Vassiliadis. He was awarded a government grant (1975-1976) to study costume and stage design in Paris, at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. He was Yannis Moralis' assistant at the A' painting studio of the ASFA from 1976 to 1984, when he started collaboration with Dimitris Mitaras that lasted until 2001. From 2001 to 2011 he was in charge of the A' painting studio. He is now professor emeritus at the ASFA. His work has been shown in both solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

Florence Christakis was born in 1958 in Paris, where she studied Social Psychology and French Literature. She studied printmaking under Pino Pandolfini and Dimitra Siaterli. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Greek Printmakers and the organizing committee of the Athens Festival of Engraving and Printmaking since 2009. She has shown her work in both solo and group exhibitions. She considers her move to Greece in 1990 a great opportunity because it enabled her to find her life path.

Despina Kotalakidou is a graduate of Athens School of Fine Arts, where she studied under Michalis Arfaras and Yiannis Gourzis. She is a printer, a painter and an icon painter (graduate of the School of Icon Painting of the municipality of Nikaia). She has shown her work in both solo and group exhibitions. Her work is part of private collections, as well as that of the National Gallery.

Kati Mahrt was born in Kiel, Germany in 1956. She studied visual arts and history of art at the Braunschweig University of the Arts (1975-1983). Beginning in 1978 she participated in international exhibitions and biennials of printmaking, while also having numerous solo shows in art galleries and museums. Many of her works can be found in museums, and public and private collections. In 1987 she was awarded the European Printmaking Biennale prize (Stuttgart). In 1998 and 2001 she received art scholarships from the German federal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Rheinland-Pfalz, respectively. In 1983 she began teaching visual arts and history of art at the Braunschweig University of Art and at the University of Hildesheim (Germany). From 1992 to 2007 she was a professor at the University of Hildesheim and since 2007 she has been working as a full-time visual artist in Athens and in Flensburg, Germany.

Konstantinos Papamichalopoulos was born in Athens in 1975. He studied painting at Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA) under Rena Papaspyrou and printmaking under Michalis Arfaras. In 2014 he completed the postgraduate program "Digital Forms of Art" at ASFA. He is a Doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication, Media and Culture at Panteion University. He works as an illustrator for numerous Greek and foreign magazines and newspapers. He has also created comics and cover designs for magazines and books. In 2015 he was artist-in-residence at the Amsterdam Grafisch Atelier (Amsterdam, Netherlands). He is the co-founder of White Island Works and has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. His work can be found in both private and public collections in and outside of Greece.

Miltiadis Petalas was born in Athens on 1977. In 2003 he graduated from Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), where he had studied under Rena Papaspyrou and in 2011 from the Printmaking Department of ASFA, where he studied under Michalis Arfaras and Yannis Gourzis. He participated in numerous group exhibitions. In 2008 he was a prize recipient at the 2nd International Triennale Ex Libris of Lefkada and in 2009 he was awarded an honorable mention at the 13th International Biennale of Small Graphics and Ex Libris of the Museum Ostrów Wielkopolski in Poland. In 2010 his work was mentioned for its excellence at the 33rd International Ex Libris Competition in Istanbul and in 2011 he was awarded first prize by the Greek Postal Service for his entry in the European competition with the theme "Forest". In 2011 he also participated in ART ATHINA. He has shown his work in both solo and group exhibitions.

Akis Pirounidis studied printmaking and graduated from Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA) in 1972. He pursued a Master of Arts at the Chelsea School of Art in London with a grant from the State Scholarships Foundation. He has shown his work in solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad and has participated in international print biennials and triennials. In 1986 he was awarded the Biennale Prize Norsk International Graphic. His work can be found at the National Gallery of Athens, the Bank of Greece, galleries in England and Norway, and private collections. In 1978 he founded the Open Silkscreening Studio, which he ran until 1995. From 1984 to 1991 he was a Special Scientist at ASFA's B' Printmaking Studio. From 1994 to 2002 he founded and ran the studio preparing applicants to ASFA. In 2002 he designed, equipped and ran a state-of-the-art silkscreening studio in the Printmaking Department of ASFA and taught there as associate professor.

Nikos Stavrakantonakis was born in Athens. He studied painting at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, printmaking at Athens School of Fine Arts and woodblock printing at the Kyoto International Mokuhanga School. He has had several solo exhibitions and has shown his work in numerous group exhibitions both in Greece and abroad. He is a member of the Greek Chamber of the Visual Arts and president of the Association of Greek Printmakers.