PRESS RELEASE
«An Evzonas for the 25th March 1821 anniversary»
Openinig: 21th March 2024, 19:30-21:30
Duration: 21th March – 6th April 2024
On the occasion of the 25th March 1821 anniversary, Skoufa Gallery presents an exhibition dedicated to the Evzones. The exhibition is titled “An Evzonas for the 25th March 1821 anniversary” and it will take place at Electra Art Space in Syntagma. The opening day is the 21st March, between 19:30 and 21:30, and the closing day is the 6th April 2024.
The Evzones are an elite corps of Greek soldiers. Their name derives from the ancient Greek words ‘ευ’ and ‘ζώννυμι’ which mean ‘well-girt’. Homer was the first one to use this term in his epics to characterize the tall, strong and well-armed warriors. An ‘Evzonas’ is also called ‘Tsolias’, a not so flattering term that originates from the Turkish word ‘cul’ (pronounced tsiul) which means ‘rag,’ that was used as an insult for the klephts and the armatole whose foustanellas were sewn with small patches of cloth.
Nowadays, the Evzones are the Greek Presidential Guards whose main purpose is to guard the President of the Republic and at a symbolic level to protect the democracy of the state. In addition, they guard the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament, where many visitors gather daily to watch their changing of guards ceremony, as well as their formal procession on Sunday mornings.
For this exhibition, Praxiteles Tzanoulinos created a series of sculptures of an Evzonas in his traditional costume, standing in attention. Stathis Alexopoulos produced the color editions of the sculpture in two different sizes, whereas some of the sculptures were decorated by artists that collaborate with Skoufa Gallery, in a manner related to each artist’s aesthetics and references.
The exhibition is accompanied by a series of paintings, pictures and decorative objects inspired by the figure of Evzonas and the Greek women’s traditional costumes.
Participant artistis:
Sculptures by Praxiteles Tzanoulinos and color editions by Stathis Alexopoulos
Painted Sculptures by: Thrasos Avaritsiotis, Fanis Goulis, Tania Dimitrakopoulou, Vassiliki Koukou, Alexandros Maganiotis, Ioli Xifara, Antonis Staveris, Vicky Stamatopoulou, Panagiotis Tountas
Photograph by Amalia Sotiropoulou
Paintings by Adrianos Sotiris, Nektarios Aposporis & Kyriaki Christakopoulou
Small sculptures, objects by Stathis Alexopoulos, Dimitris Korovesis & Christina Morali
