The exhibition features more than 40 representative works from Katsichtis’ recent output, alongside 20 earlier paintings. Displayed in the organisation’s emblematic Miró Hall, the works showcase the artist’s expressive use of colour and his distinctive artistic vision.
Greek ambassador highlights Katsichtis’ lifelong pursuit of freedom
Greece’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Ambassador George Koumoutsakos, said Katsichtis’ work reflects an enduring search for freedom, shaped by his early experiences looking out across Mount Taygetus from his birthplace, Anavryti, near Sparta.
Koumoutsakos noted that Katsichtis never forgot his roots during five decades of an active life in New York.
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“His whole life has been a constant movement between diversity and synthesis,” the ambassador said, explaining how the artist transformed his experience of cultural difference and everyday life in New York into an ever-changing movement of colour.
Koumoutsakos added that the exhibition aligns closely with UNESCO’s mission and praised curator Takis Mavrotas and Stella Katsichti for their work and support in bringing it to fruition.
UNESCO official celebrates the power of human creativity
Nayef Al-Fayez, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General responsible for culture and Jordan’s former tourism and culture minister, welcomed the exhibition and praised Katsichtis’ desire to express himself through art.
Al-Fayez said the exhibition comes at a significant time, as advances in artificial intelligence raise questions about creativity and artistic expression.
He said the show demonstrates that human creativity and art remain present and relevant, congratulating Katsichtis on sharing his work with the UNESCO community.
Family celebrates decades of artistic dedication
Katsichtis’ son, Theodoros, described the exhibition as a great honour for the family and celebrated his father’s decades of artistic work.
He said that although his father devoted much of his life to business, art remained his great passion. He also acknowledged his mother’s dedication to supporting and collecting art alongside Katsichtis.
Addressing his father directly, Theodoros thanked him for teaching him independence and praised his commitment to his dream.
“You have lived faithfully to your dream,” he said, describing his father as the most authentic person he had ever known.
A journey from Anavryti to New York
Curator and art critic Takis Mavrotas traced Katsichtis’ artistic journey from Anavryti, a small village on the slopes of Mount Taygetus, to New York, where he spent 50 consecutive years and encountered the work and ideas of leading figures in action painting.
Katsichtis began devoting himself to painting in the early 1970s. He works primarily with acrylics on white canvas, using spontaneous movements and vivid colour combinations rather than preliminary sketches or conventional narrative structures.
Mavrotas described the resulting images as explosions of colour, sometimes resembling flashes of lightning and sometimes swirling forms. He said Katsichtis treats painting not as a precise representation of visual reality but as an ongoing, almost mysterious artistic exploration.
Alongside his own work, Katsichtis built a significant art collection featuring prominent artists who lived and worked in the United States, including Baziotis, Stamos and Chryssa. He also collected works by Greek artists whose work he admired, including Dimitris Mytaras, Karas, Theofylaktopoulos, Sorogas, Parmakelis, Psychopaides and Sakagian.
He now lives and works between studios in Athens and New York.
Katsichtis reflects on his personal artistic journey
Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), Katsichtis said he still found it difficult to comprehend that his work had reached UNESCO’s headquarters.
“You never achieve anything in life entirely on your own. You have to listen and learn,” he said. “The greatest struggle is not with others, but with yourself.”
The exhibition opening attracted Greece’s ambassador to France, Ioannis Miltiadis Nikolaidis, UNESCO World Heritage Centre Director Lazare Eloundou Assomo, and ambassadors and permanent representatives from dozens of UNESCO member states, alongside figures from business, shipping, art and journalism.
Composition and Diversity: The Eternal Movement of Colours runs until November 2, 2026. The exhibition opens from 9 am to 5.30 pm, with visits available by online appointment.
(Source: AMNA)