She is an art collection advisor who runs her own Ach Art Advisory office (www.achartadvisory.com), and collaborates with major art fairs abroad, such as Frieze London and Frieze NY, organizing, in cooperation with their VIP team, a program specially tailored for the collectors that she accompanies. She writes articles for the “Artnews” newspaper and has curated a number of art exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

IN HER OWN WORDS

I grew up in an artistic environment, where the sounds of my father’s music stimulated my interest in the art world. Until now, contemporary art in Greece has been based mostly on private initiative. I would like to hope that government bodies will the efforts to promote it, laying strong foundations that will foster the conditions required for artistic expression to grow in Greece and abroad. Also, I believe that we are entering a period where art is being redefined due to the global financial crisis.

I always believed that fashion is a form of art. High-level works of art and certain unique “pieces” by inspired designers, aim at an aesthetic uplift which they create at an experiential level, and which is not exhausted at a single glance. Painting, sculpture, fashion, and architecture, often cross paths.

Art is what innovative fashion designers do. They endure the passage of time and their creations are copied extensively. Certain milestone collaborations between contemporary designers and artists were the ones between Alexander McQueen and Damien Hirst (2013), Marc Jacobs and Yakashi Murakami (2013) as well as with the conceptual artist Daniel Buren and their unprecedented fashion show in the Louvre (2013), or the most recent one between Louis Vuitton and Jeff Koons (2017)

Eleftheria Tseliou Gallery: 3 Irakleitou St., Athens, www.facebook.com/eleftheriatseliougallery

Elli is the owner and curator of Elika Gallery and she dynamically supports young artists and presents strong and fresh ideas to the public. The solo exhibition by Myrto Xanthopoulou was held in February, with her exceptional, sensitive and poetic work, followed by that by Eirini Bachlitzanaki, who is studying for her postgraduate under a scholarship at the Royal Academy of London. In May, Augustus Veinoglou, who runs the very successful Snehta Residency in Kypseli, will present his first solo exhibition in Greece.

IN HER OWN WORDS

I have loved painting ever since I was a child. While growing up I wanted to sit for the Art School examinations, but my family insisted on a more practical profession. I, therefore, started studying graphic arts. The effort to create something yourself, helps you understand an artist’s work. After that, however, I decided to continue my studies in New York by curating exhibitions. That was the greatest school. Art in Greece is evolving quickly, and exceptional works have been presented in recent years. We have very strong artists who can easily take on internationally acclaimed ones. Unfortunately, when someone is working in Greece, this means hard work for relatively low financial returns. I remain optimistic, however, because persistence and patience are always rewarded in the end.

Fashion is very interesting to me, at the level of aesthetics. I don’t have the time to follow it consistently because just like art, you need to stay informed. Nevertheless, I pay attention to the way I dress, and I believe it is evolving together with my aesthetics.