Paris Kapralos
Visual Arts Curator | Greece
Paris Kapralos is a Visual Arts Curator, Founder & Coordinator of ARC – Art Revisited Collective, and co-editor of Arts & Antiques CCR. He was born in 1975 and raised in Athens, where he currently resides and works, engaging in international activities. He studied Finance (Athens) and Graphic Arts (Staffordshire, England). He worked as a Journalist specializing in Technology for economic newspapers, magazines, and online news agencies (1999-2006), as an Organizational Manager and organizer in business conferences of the Information Technology & Telecommunications sector (Infocom, Greek ICT Forum, 2004-2011), and shifted his professional path towards the Arts in 2011. He collaborated with the Myrό Group (Myrό Gallery, Myrό Antiques House, Greek Marble Initiative, 2011-2017). From 2018 onwards, he works as an independent Organizer and Curator of visual exhibitions & events. He served as the representative of the Greek Chapter of the International Watercolor Society (IWS) from 2019 to 2022, and in October 2022, he assumed the role of Development Director at ARTgrID alongside his other activities. He has curated and organized more than 180 exhibitions, visual arts projects, third-party activities, and international events participations in Greece and abroad.
STATEMENT
“The executive role of the visual artist is not to provide knowledge, but rather contemplation. Their purpose is not to give answers, but to pose crucial and incisive questions. The societal role of the artist, globally for over a century, is to challenge every certainty, and for their artistic work to become the voice of those without one. An artist with a significant body of work that isn’t centered around social matters is inconceivable! Supporting artists is a fundamental issue in a society in need of rejuvenation. […] It is crucial to consider the means through which we will bolster Culture in the present time. Supporting artists who create culture is of paramount importance, as is accessing the culture of the past in every form achievable through digitization and free, friendly access for all. Furthermore, comprehensive modernization of Education is essential. The education we receive and give takes precedence. The education we give is what we do daily in the presence of others—children or adults; it’s simply more impactful with children. The education we receive is what we see in every space we share with others—by them, and their marks in the spaces we occupy. Art in public spaces unquestionably needs enhancement; it is fluid education”.
(excerpt from an interview in Polis Magazino)
ART PROJECTS AS A CURATOR, CONCEPT-MAKER and/or ORGANIZER
CURATION OF SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selection)
Akrasia, Aliki Rigou, organized by ARTgrID, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
Parallels, Amalia Koronaki, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
On the Branch, Kostas Michos, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
The Distance Between Us, Foti Kllogjeri, Technohoros, Athens 2022
Theodoros Kemidis: Retrospective Exhibition, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
Unanimous Moment, Ilias Kasselas, Technohoros, Athens 2022
Selfie, Christina Michalopoulou, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Parallel Journeys, Olga Kotsirea, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Macrocosm, Pinelopi Volterra, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Transcendental Realities, Chrys Roboras, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2018
Necessary Conditions, Orestis Diamantis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2017
Lost Happinesses, Valentini Mavrodoglou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2017
The Metro in Thessaloniki, Foti Kllogjeri, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2017
Parallel Nonexistence, art installation by Kalinathi Vogdopoulou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2017
Michalis Tsinoglou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
Crossing Borders – Becoming European, installation by Photography Workshop Instructor of the School of Fine Arts, University of Western Macedonia (Florina), Elena Efeoglou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
The Other City, Foti Kllogjeri, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
Chapter 50, Albena Mihaylova, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
Free Formation, Kamen Tanev, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
Emerging Forms, Andrej Mitevski, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
Ioannis Asteriou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
From Light, Orestis Diamantis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2016
Place, Time, Man, Kostas Karathanasis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2015
Valentini Mavrodoglou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2015
Je suis non Charlie Hebdo (I am not Charlie Hebdo), art installation by sculptor and professor of the Department of Visual and Applied Arts of the School of Fine Arts, AUTH, Giorgos Tsaras, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2015
Memories, Odysseas Tosounidis, sculpture installation, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2014
Giorgos Salpigkidis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2014
Nikolas Antoniou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2014
Pinelopi Volterra, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2014
Virus, Simis Gatenio, Myrό Project Room, Thessaloniki 2014
Retrospective Exhibition of Konstantinos Palian, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
Fading away, installation by Anna Maria Smyrnaki, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
Dimos Kipouros, Myrό Project Room, Thessaloniki 2013
Eutopia, Konstantinos Mennis, Myrό Project Room, Thessaloniki 2013
Giorgos Kormpakis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
Foteini Chamidieli, Myrό Project Room, Thessaloniki 2012
DOCUMENTATION
Alexithymia, group exhibition – participation of Technohoros Art Gallery at Art Athina 2021, Athens 2021
Light & Shadow, solo exhibition of Manolis Pente, Patmion, Patmos 2021
Urban Entropy, solo exhibition of Foti Kllogjeri, Technohoros, Athens 2020
ORGANIZATION & CURATION OF PARTICIPATIONS
Chili Art Gallery Exhibition Booth at the 7th Art Thessaloniki International Art Fair, DEΘ HELEXPO, Thessaloniki 2024
Chili Art Gallery Exhibition Booth at the 4th Art Thessaloniki International Art Fair, Thessaloniki 2019
IWS Globe (International Watercolor Society) Exhibition Booth at the 4th Art Thessaloniki International Art Fair, Thessaloniki 2019
CONCEPTION & CURATION OF GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selection)
Oculi Inquisitivi: Investigative Glances at the Shadows of the City, Luminous Eye Gallery, Athens 2024
New Symbols 3, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, at Luminous Eye, Athens 2024
Anthropogeographies, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2024
The Poetics of Art, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2024
Behind the Masks of Utopian Joy, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2024
Transitions & Passages, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, Luminous Eye, Athens 2024
Happiness Beyond Limits, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2024
Emmenia, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
Visual Anthropology, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
Chili Bazaart 2023, organized by ARTgrID, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
SKG Bazaart 2023, organized by ARTgrID, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2023
Before the Last Alkyonides Days, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
The Visible and the Invisible, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
City & Eutopia, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Gesture and Symbolism, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Terrain Vague – Transitional Landscapes, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Face, Image, Form, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
Man in Cities, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
Contemporary Visual Creators 2, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2023
New Normality 2, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
Contemporary Visual Creators, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2022
New Symbols 2, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
Ephemeral Homelands, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2022
SKG Bazaart, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2022
The Appearance of Things, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
Archetype & Conjecture, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
A Silence of an Era, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
The Textures of Time, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
Eutopia, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
Chili Art Gallery Exhibition Booth at the 5th Art Thessaloniki International Art Fair, Thessaloniki 2021
Ideal Forms, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2021
New Normality, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2021
The Form as a Trace of Collective Memory, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2021
Color in Water III – Sea & City, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2020
The Freedom of the Artist, Arte Visione, Athens 2020
The Inner Self, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, ps[υ]art-therapy gallery, Athens 2019
ARC Portfolio Review – Athens, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Man, Symbol, and Myth, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, My Art Box / Technohoros, Athens 2019
..
Representation & Abstraction: Elective Affinities, Arte Visione, Athens 2019
Human Trace, exhibition on the impact of Art, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Words of Images, exhibition on the poetics of Art on the occasion of World Poetry Day, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Places Without Feelings, 12 visual artists dialogue with their works on the eponymous poem by G. Alisanoglou, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Psyche – 4 Moments: Dialogue of Art with Images of the Soul, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2014
In Marble & Color, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2015
New Greek Printmaking 1, contemporary printmaking exhibition with an auction of selected works at the opening, supported by Myrό Antiques House, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2015
In your face, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2014
Body, contemporary art exhibition on the nude body, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2012
Man in Cities, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2011
SERIES OF EXHIBITIONS
“Color in Water”
Series of exhibitions promoting contemporary watercolor and familiarizing the broader public with the medium.
Color in Water 9 | Epoché, Luminous Eye Gallery, Athens 2024
Color in Water 8: Autumnal Transformations, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Color in Water 7: Summer Idleness, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
Color in Water 6: Transitional Spaces, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2022
Color in Water 5: Secret City, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2022
Color in Water IV – The Ship without Rudder, The Attic Gallery, Corfu 2020
Color in Water III – Sea & City, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2020
Color in Water 2, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2020
Color in Water, contemporary watercolor exhibition, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
“Ink on Paper”
Series of exhibitions promoting contemporary forms of art with ink on paper in general, including painting & drawing with ink, printmaking, paper sculpture, and visual objects based on these materials.
Ink on Paper 9: …run faster than decay, organized by ARTgrID, Luminous Eye, Athens 2024
Ink on Paper 8: The Writings of Art, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Ink on Paper 7 – Northern Shades, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2023
Ink on Paper 6, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2023
Ink on Paper 5, Chili Art Gallery, Athens Winter 2022
Ink on Paper 4, Chili Art Gallery, Athens Fall 2022
Ink on Paper 3, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2022
Ink on Paper 2, The Attic Gallery, Corfu 2021
Ink on Paper 1, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2021
Ink on Paper, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
CONCEPTION OF SPECIAL PROJECTS
Everyone Calls You a Statue, I Call You a Woman, co-curated with Vera Katranidou, Luminous Eye, Athens 2024
ATH Xmas Bazaart, co-curated with Vera Katranidou, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
New Normality 3: Ghost in the Machine, co-curated with Vera Katranidou, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Freedom & Creativity, co-curated with Vera Katranidou, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Summertime, co-curated with Vera Katranidou, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Infinite Forms, the first in a series of exhibitions on upcycling art as a way of expanding the perception of art. Co-curated with Iason Kairofilas, Luminous Eye, Athens 2023
Memories Unite Us, international symposium and exhibitions of the International Watercolor Society (IWS) with the participation of 80 artists from 23 countries. Co-organized with IWS Greece & Myrό Gallery, part of the festival of the Municipality of Kalamaria for the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe “A Sea of Memories”, Gate A and Former Kodra Military Camp Park, Thessaloniki 2022
Contemporary Visual Creators, exhibition & auction, conceived by Paris Kapralos, organized by Myrό Auctions, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2022
SKG Xmas Bazaart, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2022
The Attic Bazaart, curated by Sasha Chaitow, The Attic Gallery, Corfu 2021
All That Unite Us, exhibition in Athens of the joint project by IWS Greece and IWS Kosovo (Athens and Pristina 2021-22), organized by IWS, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2021
Before the Alkyonides Days End, environmental action & exhibition, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2021
New Symbols, exhibition of the initiative exploring symbolism in contemporary art, co-curated with Iason Kairofilas, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2020
What Will People Say?, exhibition – first public presentation of the Artists4Art initiative by ARC – Art Revisited Collective. Concept: Kalinathi Vogdopoulou, Curated by: Paris Kapralos. Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2020
Terhi Ekebom & Sebastian Boulter: This Side, joint exhibition – dialogue of installation and visual works, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2020
Art in Babel, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, curated by Kalinathi Vogdopoulou, Chalkos Gallery, Thessaloniki 2019
Chili Bazaart, curated by Valentini Mavrodoglou, Chili Art Gallery, Athens 2019
Color in Water II – Northern Shades, co-curated by Kalinathi Vogdopoulou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2019
Feelings Without Places, co-organizer: Giorgos Alisanoglou, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2019
Kaleidoscope, organized/co-curated by Sasha Chaitow, The Attic Gallery, Corfu 2019
Ou-Topos / Man the Measure of All Things, co-curated by Kalinathi Vogdopoulou, organized by ARC – Art Revisited Collective, 3rd Art Thessaloniki – International Contemporary Art Fair, Thessaloniki 2018
Searches: Fairy Tales & Charms, joint exhibition – dialogue between painters Christina Zygouri and Kostas Menis and sculptor Odysseas Tosounidis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2015
Meet the Artist 5 – Springtime, unmediated exhibition of visual artists and crafts, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2015
Greek Marble Initiative, exhibition of 27 sculptors from around the world, organized by Myrό Antiques House and Stavros Myronidis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2014
Retrospective Tribute to Painter Daniil Daniil, curated by Marilena Charisi, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
Engraving in the Sun, 15-year retrospective exhibition of the Center for Engraving “Helios” through the works of its founders, graduates, and students, curated by Dimitris Karlaptopoulos, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
Meet the Artist (again), unmediated exhibition of visual artists and crafts, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
Image: Art as Figurative Conjecture, co-curated with painter Dimos Kipouros, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2013
Watercolour International, international watercolor exhibition, curated by Giorgos Politis, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2012
Moments from the Future, original project showcasing the free work of 14 very young visual artists that co-curators and co-organizers of the project Paris Kapralos (as the Artistic Director of a new art space – Myrό Gallery) and Lola Nikolaou (the longest continuously active gallery owner in Thessaloniki) proposed without reservation to the art-loving public as artists who would have a remarkable career, Myrό Gallery, Thessaloniki 2012.
RELATED MATERIAL (selection)
Paris Kapralos in the Media
INTERVIEWS
Paris Kapralos: “Supporting artists is a fundamental issue in a society that needs to recover” (July 2018, Polis Magazino)
Paris Kapralos: Art demands love, dedication, and hard work (May 2020, Polis Magazino)
ARTICLES
(Paris Kapralos has an extensive body of work in the field of articles concerning visual arts. However, in this section of his biography, the selected articles presented in his Greek profile include the title, details of the media, and other relevant information for each article. Links are provided only for articles written in the English language)
– Watercolor, this unknown… (May 2023, Arts & Antiques CCR)
– Comment on the occasion of Augusta Savage’s birthday (March 2021, Arts & Antiques CCR)
– Untitled work: this scourge! (January 2021, Arts & Antiques CCR)
– Is being a visual artist a profession? (May 2020, Arts & Antiques CCR)
– A prayer for the new era (March 2020, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– Visual creation as a process of continuous self-negotiation (March 2020, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– Adorno’s “Aesthetic Theory”: the convergence of philosophy and art (February 2020, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– The role and impact of the Visual Curator (August 2017, Arts & Antiques CCR)
– Are film critics “art critics”? (September 2017, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– Art as a precondition of life (February 2016, Arts & Antiques CCR)
– I don’t want to exaggerate (July 2014, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– Ars gratia vitam, or towards a new reality of Art (that we will build) (December 2012, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– Giorgio de Chirico, 34 years later: a brief tribute (November 2012, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– Human relations in crisis: the gender factor in Art – an exhibition (August 2012, Thoughts, Words, and Writings)
– Nikolaos Gyzis, works alive 111 years later (April 2012, Arts & Antiques CCR)
SELECTION OF CURATORIAL NOTES & OTHER TEXTS
Under construction
