Katerina Halepa-Katsatou in the footsteps of Yanoulis Halepas in a new exhibition at the Teloglion Foundation of Arts in collaboration with Onassis Culture, from 6 May to 17 July 2022
After the large exhibition “Yanoulis Halepas: Debits and Credits” co-produced by Onassis Culture, a new, parallel exhibition presents the work of sculptress Katerina Halepa-Katsatou, aiming to shed new light on Yanoulis Halepas’ oeuvre.
The new exhibition at the Teloglion Foundation of Arts, AUTh, opening on Friday, May 6, 2022, proves that the case of Yanoulis Halepas is not easy to conclude. Katerina Halepa-Katsatou is presented to the Greek audience for the first time, a significant Greek artist of monumental sculpture, who has made historical monuments in Greece and especially in Macedonia.
Katerina Halepa-Katsatou, sculptress and Yanoulis’ grandniece, bravely decided to practice sculpture, in spite of her ancestor’s heavy legacy. She was greatly influenced by her uncle’s work, she lived with him until the age of 13, and she created powerful artworks—large sculptures of marble and copper, monumental pieces in public spaces and buildings—having an impact on the field of modern Greek sculpture more than any other woman. Her sculpture is representational, realistic, human-centered. She expresses herself with grand gestures, resulting in epic artworks; she is the foremost Greek sculptress of monumental plastic art.
Katerina Halepa-Katsatou contributed to the preservation and curation of her family’s archive, Vassilis and Irini Halepa. She dedicated herself to preserve and archive all those items that help situate Halepas’ work in its proper context. This archive featured very important elements for Yanoulis and his oeuvre—his sketches in the paternal business’ ledgers—as well as for his father’s, Ioannis Halepas, marble sculpture workshop—documents, contracts, etc.—while it also included plenty photographs and exhibits for Tinos. Most importantly, though, Katerina preserved all the sculptures Halepas made when he lived in Athens, on Dafnomili street.The exhibition “Katerina Halepa-Katsatou: In the footsteps of Yanoulis” aspires to complement and in a way extend the previous one with more than 70 artworks, sculptures, sketches, and rare exhibits for Halepas and his family, which will be publicly presented for the first time.
I had the luck to spend the first years of my life next to this great ancestor and watch him create. This early contact with art, along with my love for beauty, prompted my future career.
Photos from the exhibition
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Photo: Alexandros Avramidis
“I met Katerina Halepa in the ’80s, when she already had made her way in sculpture, trying to preserve the heavy legacy of—and love for—her uncle’s work. In his shadow, fluctuating between admiration and Halepas’ unavoidable influence, she tried—and managed—to create her own work, with her own personality, her own choices,” states Alexandra Goulaki-Voutira in the exhibition catalogue.
Exhibition duration: until Sunday, July 17, 2022.
Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 9.00-14.00, Wednesday 9.00-14.00 & 17.00-21.00, Saturday and Sunday 10.00-18.00, Monday closed.
