100 years Refugee Hellenism The gardens of the Byzantine MuseumAthens Culture Net Find us on Facebook Find us on youtube Find us on instagram

Byzantine and Christian Museum :: Temporary exhibitions .::. Previous exhibitions

“Within/Beyond Borders. The Collection of the European Bank of Investment”

19 September 2011 until 29 October 2011

The European Investment Bank’s art collection, which comprises some 550 works of art (paintings, photographs, works on paper, sculptures and installations), features the creations of both emblematic and emerging figures in contemporary art. The approach to collecting has been designed to gradually create a singular and fairly long-term perspective on contemporary EU art, which reflects the long-term cultural vision of the Bank.
This exhibition of works from the collection, which is being presented for the first time outside the Bank’s headquarters in Luxembourg, explores the broader idea of frontiers through an overview of European art over the last half century.


The diversity of European artistic output is demonstrated by the 38 artworks shown in the exhibition, which showcases a wide variety of artists working with different methods and in various media: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, installations.

The idea of frontiers ¯real or imagined, physical or in the mind¯ is omnipresent in the artworks included in the exhibition.

Through an itinerary which leads progressively from pure abstraction to tangible materiality and a more figurative language, the visitor is offered the possibility of exploring the subject on various levels (territorial and visual barriers, transcending or crossing borders, spatial, intellectual and artistic limitations). The visit is organised into four parts:
 
•    Questioning the concept of borders (Entrance)
•    More than just a border (Room 1)
•    Redefining borders (Room 2)
•    Borders of reality (Room 3)

The exhibition is in line with an established policy of the Byzantine and Christian Museum aimed at cultivating the dialogue between Byzantine/Post-Byzantine art and contemporary artistic production. The exhibition “Within/Beyond Borders” enables a different approach to the Museum’s permanent exhibition by highlighting the characteristics of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine art (abstraction, transcendence, spirituality) that can be found at the heart of many contemporary artistic trends.