Katerina Nikolaou, as curator of the exhibition Masking at Zoumboulakis Galleries, explores the notion of fragility

What have been the highlights of your journey — the key steps that shaped your path?

It all began about ten years ago at CAN Gallery, founded by Christina Androulidaki, where I completed my internship and came into direct contact with the art world. A defining moment in my journey, I believe, was in 2021, when I curated the exhibition Ki-nimata in Spetses, creating an artistic walk. It was both a challenge and a completely new experience, as I worked outside Athens and in a public space.

From then on, and over the next three years, I moved nomadically across different parts of the island, presenting exhibitions such as Baltiza: Work in Progress at the Poseidonion Grand Hotel (2022), Home at the Old Port (2023), as well as projects at the Roussopoulos residence and Baraka Art Space (2024). In each initiative, I was interested in highlighting aspects of the island’s history while also engaging the local community as much as possible.

At the same time, I have curated exhibitions in galleries and independent spaces in Athens, and have also been involved in coordinating artist residencies, as well as other exhibitions and artistic programs.

How did the idea of pursuing a creative path in art emerge, and how has it evolved over time?

All the exhibitions I’ve curated tend to begin somewhat spontaneously, stemming from personal experiences and questions that concern me at a given time. The first idea revolved around female identity, for which eight artists designed their own “flag.”

Today, I find myself returning to concepts and themes that once felt more distant, or that I wasn’t yet ready to approach — such as the subject of my current exhibition. I see this whole process as an ongoing journey: an opening toward new directions and a desire to better understand both myself and the world around me.

How do you feel your aesthetic evolves over time, and what are your main interests?

My aesthetic develops gradually through experiences, travel, and my engagement with art and everyday life. I don’t see it as something fixed, but as something that evolves alongside me.

At home, there is a strong presence of objects that carry memory and history. I love mosaic flooring and marble sinks, and I have an obsession with anything handmade — anything that bears the imprint of human craftsmanship. For example, I have a Skyrian textile chosen by my parents, which holds many memories for me.

My friends often joke that my home feels like it belongs to another era — perhaps because it doesn’t follow trends, but rather a more timeless and emotional approach to space. I’m deeply interested in cinema and literature, and I try to travel and visit exhibitions as much as possible, in order to understand different periods and artistic approaches and enrich my own visual vocabulary.

Tell us about the new exhibition you’re curating — what is its theme and how was it developed?

The exhibition Masking at Zoumboulakis Galleries explores the notion of fragility, and I believe it’s important, especially in the current political and social climate, for this concept to come to the forefront. Through research and reading, I realized that this topic has been explored for decades — and I wanted to bring it back into focus, as I see it as a timeless condition.

Interestingly, the idea for the exhibition began in a rather unexpected way, through the book The Snow Leopard by Sylvain Tesson. At one point, the author describes how the leopard disappears into the mountains: “A magical shadow! I thought it had vanished,” I said. “That’s what it wants us to believe.”

This sparked my first question: have we ultimately learned to camouflage our emotions? As if we perceive others as threatening, and therefore choose not to reveal parts of ourselves?

When I began selecting the artists and works for the exhibition, I did not focus on the “fragility” of the materials themselves, but rather on each artist’s research field and how their work relates to vulnerability — whether on a social, political, or existential level.

Which artists are participating, and how do their works fit within the exhibition?

The exhibition brings together eleven artists — Elli Antoniou, Giorgos Avgeros, Kostis Velonis, Marina Gennadieva, Panagiotis Kefalas, Marilena Kranioti, Xenofon Bitsikas, Malvina Panagiotidi, Nefeli Papadimouli, Stefanos Rokos, and Kostas Christopoulos — whose practices engage in dialogue through different media and approaches, including painting, sculpture, and installation.

Each work is situated within this thematic framework, through which personal artistic inquiries emerge. For instance, in Elli Antoniou’s work, the study of the same landscape focuses on slowness and, in part, the acceptance of vulnerability and error. Marilena Kranioti, with her piece Rituals for the Sun, made of metal, emphasizes the shadows it casts, as for her “the shadow takes on a central role, symbolizing the part of the self that remains unaccepted or unexplored.”

Marina Gennadieva continues mapping Cyprus’ “dead zone,” an active minefield, using it as a starting point to reveal how nature is not simply present, but “masked” within a field of geopolitical tension. Meanwhile, Xenofon Bitsikas, through an ongoing dialogue with iconic painters, locates fragility within the very experience of “seeing and being seen,” in the relationship between observer and observed.