An exhibition about the very personal spaces of artists

Chloe Akrithaki's exhibition "Encounters" at the Benaki Museum is a series of photographs that begins in 1992, in her father's studio, and continues to the present day, with her visiting friends of artists during their work.

Christos Paridis

In the studio of Spyridoula Politis. Photo.

Chloe Akrithaki was born in Berlin during the time her father was studying there on a scholarship in the years of the junta. Although she was raised in Athens, she later returned to Berlin for her studies. Her mother, Fofi, managed a renowned restaurant named after her at Fasanenstraße 70, which was a popular spot for a variety of artists, both famous and otherwise.

In 1993, Chloe needed a subject for her thesis in visual communication and photography, which involved a project of a hundred photographs centered around a theme. She decided to focus on the Greek visual artist Christos Bouronikos, who was a part of her mother’s circle of friends and patrons. This led her to shadow him closely, observing his daily life and creative process.

She remembers, “I observed his lifestyle, his creative process, and the results up until his exhibition. For three months, I followed him very closely. Once I completed [the project], it was discarded and forgotten. After that, I moved to Prague and started a family.”

“It’s like documenting time, like keeping diaries. Many people work at home and others in basements. The workspace often reflects the artist, but many times they have to adapt to the space they have. This raises the question: do you create small works because you have a small space, or do you have a small space because you create small works? Behind a piece of work, I don’t see a face. I see relationships.”

However, it wasn’t just this project that was consigned to oblivion. A year prior, she had photographed her father, the painter Alexis Akrithakis, for an interview for ENA magazine. She gave him the film to pass on to the magazine editors. Some of the photos were published, but the negatives were never returned. They were lost, as many things were in those days in newspaper and magazine offices.

In the studio of Nikomahi Karakostanoglou. Photo.

Now, decades later, the first photographs she thought to include in her exhibition at the Benaki Museum were those of Bouronikos and her father.

This exhibition, entitled “Encounters”, explores her relationships with visual artists, her interactions with them, their unique and often hidden moments, and their impact on space and time.

The exhibition features 62 artists in their creative spaces, but it’s not intended as a collection of portraits.

The focus is more on capturing the artists in their moments of creativity, without making them consciously acknowledge their “presence”. The photographer stands beside them, not demanding their active participation but almost disregarding her, ensuring she does not disrupt their work.

She shares, “I began frequenting Athens more in 2018, reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, and visiting their studios. It felt like a form of psychoanalysis, a journey to rediscover my roots, relive past experiences and perceive them in a new light.”

My encounters involved friends, artists, acquaintances; individuals I share a bond with, including painters, sculptors, and performers. I began photographing them, though not consciously, perhaps only post December ’19, early ’20. However, the advent of the coronavirus led to my departure from Greece.

In ’21 I returned and resumed my project with a clearer objective. I met many of them multiple times, typically in a workshop setting, but not always. I made sure to visit the studios of those I regularly interact with and we often meet. Most of them had never previously allowed anyone to intrude into their workspace during work hours, and some initially felt uneasy. However, every situation was unique.”

In her own workshop today, one can find an array of photographic samples that will be displayed at the Benaki. Among them, you can spot Kostas Tsolis, Lisi Kalliga, Eleni Mylonas, Eugenia Apostolou, Nikos Podias, Tolis Tatola, Paolo Colombo, Yannis Adamakos, Panagiotis Lezes, Irini Karagiannopoulou, Nikos Tranos, Vasso Gavaise, Ilias Papailakis, Filippos Tsitsopoulos, and Lila Polenakis.

There’s Dimitris Tzamouranis from Berlin, Thanasis Totsikas photographed in Nikaia, Larissa, Peggy Kliafa in a moody basement illuminated by a pharmacy cross, Vassilis Gerodimos sculpting marble, Dionysis Kavallieratos’ cluttered studio, and Miltos Manetas painting Chloe’s kitchen in Exarchia. Small and large gestures, details of their spaces, and the surrounding ambiance are all captured.

Chloe Akrithaki explains, “It’s akin to documenting the season, like keeping diaries. Many people work from home while others in basements. On one hand, the space mirrors the artist, on the other, they often adapt to the space they occupy. This raises a question: do you undertake small projects because you have a small space, or do you have a small space because you’re engaged in small projects? Behind every project, I see not a face, but relationships.

I seek atmosphere, hence I utilize existing lighting. I don’t artificially illuminate. Some spaces, like basements, lack light, and people work at different times—some at night, others during the day. Consequently, I often resort to very low speeds.

Curious occurrences unfold, faces and clothing blend with the works or the space. Take, for instance, Martha Dimitropoulou, who vanishes next to Apostolos Karakatsanis and merges with the artwork. I continue to photograph my artist friends, making this exhibition a dynamic work in progress.

The exhibition’s curator, Katerina Koskina, commented, “What intrigued and touched me is that these are not mere photographs of artists in their studios. Chloe, who is friends with most of the artists, strives to capture the animated material in the surrounding space that shapes the reality of the creative process. This includes seemingly mundane objects, subtle shifts in exterior lighting, and even the artist’s fleeting glances towards their work.

Miltos Manetas Photo: Chloe Akrithaki

The result is not a portrait of the artist or their workspace, but rather the ambience, the moment of intense focus, solitude, and concurrently, the acceptance of another artist’s presence—an artist who is eventually forgotten. It’s as if Chloe is absent, leaving behind an autonomously operating camera. There is no verbal interaction or exchange at that moment. The outcome is a unique piece of art, charged with emotion, offering the viewpoint of another artist—Chloe Akrithaki—through the medium of the camera.

In essence, I’m curating an exhibition by Chloe Akrithaki. It’s an exhibition of the gaze—an artist’s gaze upon another artist during a private, typically solitary, and secretive moment of creation. That’s why this exhibition is not about studio or artist photographs. It captures something far more abstract than a studio or an artist’s portrait.”