photo via flicr, photostream of Laurend D. Ruamps
The Frissiras Museum was founded by the Vlassis Frissiras family to house the private collection of its founder. Vlassis Frissiras, an attorney and passionate art lover, started his collection with works by Greek artists in 1978 and went on to focus on European artists since the ’90s. The collections consist of paintings, drawings, sculptures and engravings by European artists through which an attempt is made to record the trends, people and philosophy of humanistic European painting after 1940.
The Museum is tucked away in one of the quieter narrow streets of Plaka and is housed in two neoclassical buildings, connected internally with walkways spanning an atrium, warmed by plenty of natural light coming through a glass roof. Both buildings, restored by the Frissiras family, are beautiful examples of the neoclassical Athenian architecture. The one located at number 3, Monis Asteriou str., was built in 1860 and is one of the first neoclassical houses in the Capital. The building at 7, Monis Asteriou str., was designed by the architect Ernst Ziller and was inaugurated in 1904.
A hub that plays a crucial role in the contemporary art scene of Athens, the Museum organises exhibitions regularly; the current one is entitled ”The Deceit of the Flesh”. A juxtaposition between the tribute to the female body and its beauty and sensuality, reflected in the works by the 31 Greek and foreign participating artists and the work of French painter Jean Rustin in which man’s suffering and decay are portrayed. Do you choose to ignore the effects of old age on the ephemeral beauty or do you bravely accept and embrace it? Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the fairest of them all?…
I tended to admire the ode to beauty and sensuality and found Rustin’s old, decaying, insane figures too nasty for my eyes. These are two of the less dramatic (traumatic) ones:
Jean Rustin, Couple dans le couloir (1995) acrylic on canvas
Jean Rustin, Femme agenouilee (1994-96) acrylic on canvas
And here is the view looking from the other side of the mirror:
Alexis Veroucas, Narcissus (2013), oil on canvas
Kallirroi Marouda, Untitled (2013) oil on canvas
Panayiotis Beldekos, Nude (2013) oil on canvas
Aris Mertilis, Untitled (2013) oil on canvas (detail)
Bogumil Ksiazek, Untitled (2013) oil on canvas
Christos Pallantzas, Untitled (2013) oil on canvas
Maria Giannakaki, Untitled (2013) oil on canvas
Giorgos Sakkas, Untitled (2013) charcoal on canvas
Foteini Stefanidou, Amor (2013) oil on canvas
Edouard Sacaillan, Tender desire in mourning (2013) oil on canvas
Achilleas Pistonis, Study in flight (2013) oil on canvas
Achilleas Pistonis, Study in flight (2013) oil on canvas (detail)
Achilleas Pistonis, Study in flight (2013) oil on canvas (detail)
Achilleas Pistonis, Study in flight (2013) oil on canvas (detail)
Vassilis Soulis, Nude (2013) oil on canvas
The Deceit of the Flesh is on until 27 October 2013.
Frissiras Museum
3 & 7, Monis Asteriou,
Plaka, Athens, Greece
OPENING HOURS
Wednesday to Friday: 10:00 – 17:00
Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 – 17:00
Monday and Tuesday: closed
Photos by Konstantinos Implikian and the Museum website.
Athens, 20-24 June 2013
Lia in Brussels 
Beautiful post! Thank you! Haven’t been there in many years. Passed by yesterday, late at night on my way home.
It’s easy with such a beautiful subject! Their exhibitions are usually very interesting, we pop by every time we can. The only museum in Athens showcasing contemporary paintings of Greek and European artists, at least to date. Now I’m waiting for the restored FIX with great excitement!!
Very nice article! It’s a shame i live in Greece and cannot visit Athens to see this museum.
Thank you Alex! Thessaloniki offers a different kind of beauty… like an open-air museum! I enjoyed your post on the Salem Mansion and can totally understand why you were so captivated! And… seeing where you live, who needs to visit Athens? 😉
Hehe, i must say i do prefer Thessaloniki from Athens. I’ve been to Athens a few times but i don’t feel i could stay there for more than a week or two. I was living in Thessaloniki for 7 years, now i had to go back to my parents house in Halkidiki. I do wish to go back to Thessaloniki soon but the way things are here i’ll probably go to Austria, since my mother is from there 🙂
Sometimes I think I’m the only Thessalonikia who actually likes Athens 😀 But I’m sure you’d love Austria; such a beautiful country – your cameras will work overtime!
Love the quality of these works..true art and artistry x
I was very impressed myself. I think creative people like these are our only way to ‘salvation’… and I’m not talking only about Greece… xxx
Bravo pour tous tes articles passionnants! J’ai adoré le travellogue à Paros! et puis merci de partager les expos d’Athènes! Tiffany
No, thank YOU Tiffany, for taking the time to read them! It always feels good to know that some of my posts are not completely boring 🙂