Denys Zacharopoulos (born 1952 in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) is an

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

and

theorist A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

. He works as Professor of

Art History Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

, author, and curator, amongst others at the 48th

Biennale In the art world, a biennale ( , ; ), is a large-scale international contemporary art exhibition. The term was popularised by the Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895, but the concept of such a large scale, and intentionally internationa ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

(

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) and

documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

IX in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Biography

Denys Zacharopoulos studied music in Athens and from 1970 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

literature, semantics and philosophy, followed by history and sociology of the arts and in literature. His teachers were

Jean Cassou Jean Cassou (; 9 July 1897 – 15 January 1986) was a French writer, art critic, poet, member of the French Resistance during World War II and the first Director of the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris. Biography Jean Cassou was born at ...

, Gaëtan Picon, Louis Marin and

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 25 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popu ...

. He lived in France and became a French citizen. Since 2000, he has lived in Greece. In 1975, Denys Zacharopoulos became program coordinator of the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He then spent time in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and taught as Professor in the Academies of Fine Arts in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. During this period he forged intensive personal contacts to many contemporary artists of his generation, in particular to James Welling, Matt Mullican, Ernst Caramelle,

Jean-Marc Bustamante Jean-Marc Bustamante (born 1952) is a French artist, painter, sculptor and photographer. He is a noted conceptual and installation artist and has incorporated ornamental design and architectural space in his works. Early life Bustamante was born ...

, Juan Muñoz,

Thomas Schütte Thomas Schütte (born 16 November 1954) is a German contemporary artist. He sculpts, creates architectural designs, and draws. He lives and works in Düsseldorf. Education From 1973 to 1981 Schütte studied art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf ...

and Reinhard Mucha.

Professional activities

Denys Zacharopouls' first major works centered on the

Arte Povera Arte Povera (; literally "poor art") was an art movement that took place between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s in major cities throughout Italy and above all in Turin. Other cities where the movement was also important are ...

movement. He curated a long series of exhibitions in major museums in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Since 2001, he has published extensively and curated intensively many exhibitions on the artistic production and the issue of Avantgarde in Greece in the second half of the 20th century. *Director of the Domaine de Kerguehennec, in France (1992–1999) *Co-Director with Jan Hoet of

IX in Kassel, Germany (1992) *General inspector for contemporary art in the French Ministry for Culture (1999) * Curator of the French Pavilion at the 48th

in Venice (1999) * Visiting Professor at the École Supérieure des Arts Visuels (ESAV) in Geneva (1985-1991) * Professor at the

Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school supports ...

in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (1996–2005) *Professor for art history and art theory at the Aegean University in Lesvos, Greece (2002-2010) *Artistic director of the Macedonian Museums for Contemporary Art, Thessalonica (2006).

Publications

Since 1977, Zacharopoulos has produced art critiques in: ''Artforum'' (New York); ''Artistes'' (Paris); ''Arti'' (Athens); ''Parkett'' (Zurich); ''Furor'' (Geneva); ''Faces'' (Geneva); ''Museumjournal'' (Amsterdam); ''Art e Dossier'' (Rome); ''Artstudio'' (Paris); ''Juliett'' (Trieste); ''Acrobat Mime Parfait'' (Bologna); ''Teuchos'' and ''Artime'' (both Athens). Numerous catalogues and theoretical publications listed in Zacharopoulos' bibliography, with particular emphasis on the following artists:

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced Abstract art, abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, photographs and Glass art, glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important con ...

Mario Merz Mario Merz (1 January 1925 – 9 November 2003) was an Italian artist, and husband of Marisa Merz. Life Born in Milan, Merz started drawing during World War II, when he was imprisoned for his activities with the ''Giustizia e Libertà'' ant ...

, Gilberto Zorio, Iannis Kounellis,

Per Kirkeby Per Kirkeby (1 September 1938 – 9 May 2018) was a Danish Painting, painter, poet, film maker and sculptor. His works have been exhibited worldwide and are represented in many important public collections, including the Tate, Metropolitan Museum ...

, Eugene Leroy,

Michelangelo Pistoletto Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 23 June 1933) is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera. His work mainly deals with the subject mat ...

, Pat Steir,

Carl Andre Carl Andre (September 16, 1935 – January 24, 2024) was an American minimalist artist recognized for his ordered linear and grid format sculptures. His sculptures range from large public artworks (such as ''Stone Field Sculpture'', 1977, in ...

, Pierpaolo Calzolari, Jean-Pierre Bertrand,

Marina Abramović Marina Abramović ( sr-Cyrl, Марина Абрамовић, ; born November 30, 1946) is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist. Her work explores body art, endurance art, the relationship between the performer and audience, the limit ...

Lothar Baumgarten Lothar Baumgarten (5 October 1944 – 2 December 2018) was a German conceptual artist, based in New York and Berlin. His work includes installation and also film. Early life and education Born 1944 in Rheinsberg, Germany, Baumgarten attended ...

, Marisa Merz,

, Matt Mullican,

, Jan Vercruysse, Helmut Dorner, Gaylen Gerber, arald Klingelhöller, Franz West, Jim Lutes, Tadashi Kawamata, Reinhard Mucha, Adrian Schiess, Herbert Brandl, Jimmy Durham, Michel François, Eran Schaerf, Xavier Noiret-Thomé.

Bibliography

*Denys Zacharopoulos/Ulrich Look, "Gerhard Richter", S. Schreiber, Munich, 1984 * "Reinhard Mucha: Das Figur/Grund Problem in der Architektur des Barocks", Kunstverein, Stuttgart 1985. *"Per Kirkeby", Musée Saint-Pierre, Lyon, 1987 *"Gerhard Richter", Liliane & Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris 1991. *"Jean-Marc Bustamante", Kröller-Müller, Otteloo, 1994 *"Per Kirkeby", Arts Club, Chicago, 2007 *"Xavier Noiret-Thomé", Analogues, maison d'édition pour l'art contemporain, Arles, 2013

Awards and honors

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

of the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National Co ...

(2002)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacharopoulos, Denys 1952 births Living people Writers from Athens Greek art historians Greek art curators Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art