A Major Exhibition at the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation presents Jannis Psychopedis: Landscapes of Memory. The Ones I Chose to Keep, a major retrospective dedicated to one of the foremost figures in contemporary Greek art, Jannis Psychopedis.
On view from May 20 to October 4, 2026, the exhibition traces Psychopedis’ artistic journey from 1962 to the present through approximately 70 paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works. Of particular significance is the fact that these are works the artist himself chose to retain in his personal collection, offering a rare and deeply personal insight into both his artistic evolution and the choices that shaped it.
Jannis Psychopedis, a major figure of postwar Greek painting, develops a distinct visual language, exploring political tensions, social unrest, memory, exile, fragmented urban life and autobiographical elements. His practice is at the same time profoundly literary. Text, manuscripts, poetry and allusions to writers, philosophers, and historical documents frequently inhabit his compositions, transforming many of his works into visual meditations that unfold like diaries or fragments of remembrance. His paintings invite reading as much as viewing.
Psychopedis emerged on the Greek art scene during the liberal climate of the 1960s as a prominent member of Art Group “A”, the New Greek Realists, and the Centre for Visual Arts. From the outset of his career, his work reflected the international shift toward neo-figuration, a movement that found a distinctive resonance in Greece. The richness of his contribution to neo-realism was shaped by the dynamic coexistence of two artistic worlds: one deeply rooted in Greek culture and another formed through his Western artistic education. Rather than dissolving into a unified visual language, these parallel influences remained in productive tension, fostering fertile artistic exchanges while reinforcing the artist’s resistance to aggressive industrialization and rampant consumerism.
The exhibition unfolds across twenty thematic chapters shaped by the artist’s own narratives and reflections. It opens with works from 1962, marking the true beginning of Psychopedis’ artistic path, followed by works from 1967 that capture the political and social tensions of the era.
The section Anatomy Lesson reveals the artist’s enduring engagement with anatomy, dating back to his student years. This preoccupation recurs throughout the exhibition in figures that seem to bear invisible wounds; even the nude bodies, initially suggestive of eroticism, appear fragile and vulnerable. In The Letter that Never Arrived, elements of everyday life intertwine with autobiographical references through the use of heterogeneous materials. Night in Brussels, created after the artist settled in Brussels in 1986, explores the relationship between interior and exterior space, between the intimacy of the private room and the urban landscape beyond the window.
The 1999 cycle Report to Goya functions as a powerful anti-war statement, linking traumatic images of the past with contemporary realities. Equally emblematic is Oracle, one of the artist’s most significant works, distinguished by its multilayered structure and its dialogue between ancient and contemporary civilization. References to classical antiquity also permeate the series inspired by the devastating fires of 2007 in Ancient Olympia, where the artist reflects on the relationship between lived experience and the enduring legacy of the classical world.
The exhibition is curated by Kyriakos Koutsomallis, General Director of the B&E Goulandris Foundation.
An extensive bilingual catalogue in Greek and English accompanies the exhibition, alongside a three-episode podcast series produced as part of B&E Goulandris Podcasts: An Audio Dive into the Enchanting World of Art, available on major streaming platforms.
Born in Athens in 1945, Jannis Psychopedis studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts before continuing his education at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich on a DAAD scholarship. During the years of the Greek dictatorship, he co-founded the group “Young Greek Realists,” whose socially engaged figurative painting became associated with anti-dictatorial resistance. Following extended periods in Munich, West Berlin, and Brussels, he returned permanently to Greece in the early 1990s and later taught painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts until 2012.
Over the course of his career, Psychopedis has presented numerous solo exhibitions internationally and participated in major collective exhibitions and retrospectives. His work occupies a singular position within contemporary European painting, distinguished by its fusion of political consciousness, historical depth, and intensely personal expression.
Featured Photo: “Broken Horizon” [part of a quadriptych], 1981. Coloured pencils on paper, 58.5 × 56 cm
Photo credits © Chris Doulgeris
