The Greek Collection of the MoCA Skopje

The political distance and the resulting cultural lapse between the neighboring Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece until recently have been contemplated as an impenetrable enigma. And yet, instances of true connection were still achieved by the artists of both countries. The museum’s records note the mutual contacts, initially through the donation of artworks from a number of Greek artists and their personal and group exhibitions in the Museum of Contemporary Art and followed by cooperation on several exhibition projects in Athens, Thessaloniki, and Skopje throughout the last five decades. The current exhibition intends both to illustrate this inherited paradox, and to emphasize once again the unrestrained potential of art to build cultural bridges.

Some of the donated works date back to 1965, such as the graphic prints by Vasso Katracis and a painting by Emanuel Piladakis, whereas the massive response of the artists from the 1970s defined the character of this segment of the collection. One such artist – and a great friend of the museum –is Yannis Gaïtis. His contribution, aside from donating five prints, one object, and one painterly object, was to inspire other Greek artists to donate their works to the devastated city by the 1963 earthquake.

Donated artworks reflect the trends of the period, in which one of the main structure is inspired by the geometrical abstraction (the artists in and around the art group “Processes-Systems”) blending the ancient Greek tradition with op and pop art contexts. The presence of the art of antique Greece is identified in other separate art works based on hyperrealism and abstract tendencies.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje collection currently owns 47 art works by 34 Greek artists.

Tanasis Akrivopoulos, Beba Angelinou, Kate Antypa, Ahileas Apergis, Koula Bekari, Yannis Gaïtis, Bia Davou, Diohandi, Achileas Drungas, Ana Constantinou, Dimitris Xonoglou, Niki Kanagini, Lefteris Kanakakis, Christos Caras, Vasso Katracis, Dimitri Condos, Pandelis Xagoraris, Stathis Logothetis, Dimitri Mytaras, Yannis Michas, Tonia Nikolaidis, Giorgos Nikolaidis, Emanuel Piladakis, Kontaratou Houtopoulou – Sosso, Јеannе Spiteris, Eleni Stathopoloulou, Sotiris Sorogas, Vassilis Skylakos, Vangelis Faeinos, Alexandre Fassianos, Maria Hadzigaki, Opy Zouni, Eleni Zerva, Christina Zervou