Kalfayan Galleries present a solo exhibition of Vlassis Caniaris’ (1928 – 2011) work, which sheds further light on the multifaceted artistic practice of the artist, one of the most significant of the post-war period in Greece. Well-known for his socio-political concerns, which are reflected in his ‘Gastarbeiter-Fremdarbeiter’ (‘Guest workers – Foreign Workers’) series from the mid-70s, the artist focused on the lives and living conditions of emigrants living in Germany at the time.

In 2009, two years before his death, the artist presented for the first time in Athens at Kalfayan Galleries, his monumental installation titled ‘Arrivederci-Willkommen-1976’ which was featured since then at exhibitions in Greece and abroad, including

Museum for Modern Art (MKK) (Frankfurt), National Gallery, Athens, WIELS Contemporary Art Centre (Brussels) and Gwangju Biennale.The current show, which marks the fourth solo presentation of the artist’s work at Kalfayan Galleries, features, among others individual sculptures, works from the ‘Walls’ series ( 1950s-1970s) and two historic installations dated in 1974.

As an active witness to history and critical observer of political events, Caniaris evolved an artistic vocabulary that was put to the service of a committed socio-political message. Caniaris’ “concrete realism” (a term coined by scholar Michael Fehr to describe his work), a style reminiscent of Arte Povera, defined his work throughout his life and the artist pursued themes that not only touched him but were politically and socially relevant to his times. He was one of the most significant artists of the

post-war period and helped contribute to the creation of a new artistic climate in post-war Greece. He belongs to the generation of Greek artists who worked in Italy, France and Germany during the ‘60s and ‘70s when he developed a personal distinctive style, experimenting with modes of expression that strayed from the mainstream.

With echoes of Arte Povera and the trends that had developed since Marcel Duchamp, Caniaris began to use found objects in his works in the early 1960s and the human figure gradually began to enter his thematic explorations. The first ‘environments’ were created in 1971 as he turned his attention fully on the problem of the influx of economic emigrants in Germany. In these works, the artist included all the ordinary objects that people acquire and use to shape their lives –chairs and toys, bicycles and suitcases- attempting through personal observation to reconstruct individual histories, dreams and realities, the burden of economic hardship.

In 1988, Caniaris, together with Nikos Kessanlis, represented Greece at the Venice Biennale and in 1997 his work was exhibited at Documenta. His work has been exhibited widely in museums and galleries throughout Greece, Europe and in the United

States. His work can be found in numerous private and public collections including Pinakothek Der Moderne (Munich), the Museum am Ostwall Dortmund and Tate Moden (Room 8).

Short Bio

Vlassis Caniaris (Athens, 1928 – 2011) was always a keen observer of his surroundings but also of the world at large. Thus his iconography has always focused on socio-political themes. He is one of the most significant artists of the post-war period in

Greece and contributed to the emergence of a new artistic climate. From 1956 to 1960 he lived and studied in Rome and then settled in Paris until 1971. From 1973 to 1975 he lived in Berlin and then returned to Athens where he lived and worked until

his death. He studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1950-1955),The School of Fine Arts, Rome (1959) and the University of Athens, School of Medicine (1946-1950). In 1976 he was elected to the chair in Architecture at the National Technical University

in Athens and remained until 1996.

With major international exhibitions, retrospectives as well as participations at the Greek Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (1964, 1988, 2003, 2012) and Documenta 6 (1977), Vlassis Caniaris is ranked as one of the pioneers of post-war art in Greece. He has had solo exhibitions at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1970), Moderna Museet, Stockholm (1972), the ICA Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (1976) and Kunstverein Hannover (1976). Recent solo presentations of his work

include: Vlassis Caniaris: Selected Works 1960s – 1980s, The Hellenic Centre, London (2023). ‘Vlassis Caniaris – Bound for Tinos III”, Cultural Foundation of Tinos, Greece (2016); ‘Vlassis Caniaris’, GAK – Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst, Bremen, (2012). Since 2012 his works have been shown in numerous exhibitions in Greece and abroad such as: ‘Vlassis Caniaris (solo show), Hellenic Art Centre (2023), London; ‘There is no there there’, Frankfurt Museum for Modern Art (MKK) (2024); Urbanography (2023) and ‘Democracy’ (2024), National Gallery of Athens, Greece; ‘DIE VERHÄLTNISSE ZUM TANZEN BRINGEN - 50 Jahre Kemnade International’ Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany; ‘Portals’, NEON, Old Tobacco Factory, Athens (2021); ‘Corpus Domini. Dal

corpo glorioso alle rovine dell'anima’, Palazzo Reale, Milan (2021); ‘Body & Soul – Works from the Collection of Museum Ostwall at Dortmunder U, Germany (2020). DOCUMENTA 14 (2017); ‘Uncertain States. Artistic Strategies in States of

Emergency’, Akademie der Künste, Berlin (2016). Solo presentation at Feature, Art Basel, Kalfayan Galleries (2017). ‘Atopolis’, Wiels Centre d’Art Contemporain, Brussels (2015), Gwangju Biennale (2014) et al. His work can be found in numerous private

and public collections including Pinakothek Der Moderne (Munich), Museum am Ostwall Dortmund, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Kunstmuseum Bochum and Tate Moden (London).