Vlassis Caniaris’s works are featured in the group exhibition Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960 at Gropius Bau, Berlin.
The exhibition highlights both continuities and changes, making Kreuzberg visible as a space of artistic possibility–a place where lived experiences of migration, gender and class were transformed into images, voices and stances that continue to resonate in the present. Around 130 works address the core experiences of the so-called guest workers and subsequent generations; rarely shown historical artworks enter into dialogue with pieces created specifically for the exhibition. They explore migration, exile, housing crisis, racism and exclusion–as well as resistance, empowerment, solidarity and community.
Caniaris (b. 1928 in Athens, d. 2011 in Athens) is considered one of the most important protagonists of Greek post-war art. He changed the dynamics of the Greek art scene, and his distinctive visual language was cutting-edge for his time. While living in Rome (1956-1960), Caniaris’ practice still focused on two-dimensional images, drawing inspiration from the works of Giorgio de Chirico and symbolic realism. His turn towards the abstract dates to his time in Paris (1960-1967 and 1969-1973), when he was also seeking to dissolve the surface of his works and opened his practice to three-dimensionality and assemblage.
