\n<\/p>\n
The exhibition features more than 40 representative works from Katsichtis\u2019 recent output, alongside 20 earlier paintings. Displayed in the organisation\u2019s emblematic Mir\u00f3 Hall, the works showcase the artist\u2019s expressive use of colour and his distinctive artistic vision.<\/p>\n
Greek ambassador highlights Katsichtis\u2019 lifelong pursuit of freedom<\/strong><\/p>\n Greece\u2019s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Ambassador George Koumoutsakos, said Katsichtis\u2019 work reflects an enduring search for freedom, shaped by his early experiences looking out across Mount Taygetus from his birthplace, Anavryti, near Sparta.<\/p>\n Koumoutsakos noted that Katsichtis never forgot his roots during five decades of an active life in New York.<\/p>\n Read more: Griko language: Is this Italian dialect Magna Graecia\u2019s last echo?<\/p>\n \u201cHis whole life has been a constant movement between diversity and synthesis,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n Koumoutsakos added that the exhibition aligns closely with UNESCO\u2019s mission and praised curator Takis Mavrotas and Stella Katsichti for their work and support in bringing it to fruition.<\/p>\n UNESCO official celebrates the power of human creativity<\/strong><\/p>\n Nayef Al-Fayez, UNESCO\u2019s Assistant Director-General responsible for culture and Jordan\u2019s former tourism and culture minister, welcomed the exhibition and praised Katsichtis\u2019 desire to express himself through art.<\/p>\n Al-Fayez said the exhibition comes at a significant time, as advances in artificial intelligence raise questions about creativity and artistic expression.<\/p>\n He said the show demonstrates that human creativity and art remain present and relevant, congratulating Katsichtis on sharing his work with the UNESCO community.<\/p>\n Family celebrates decades of artistic dedication<\/strong><\/p>\n Katsichtis\u2019 son, Theodoros, described the exhibition as a great honour for the family and celebrated his father\u2019s decades of artistic work.<\/p>\n He said that although his father devoted much of his life to business, art remained his great passion. He also acknowledged his mother\u2019s dedication to supporting and collecting art alongside Katsichtis.<\/p>\n Addressing his father directly, Theodoros thanked him for teaching him independence and praised his commitment to his dream.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have lived faithfully to your dream,\u201d he said, describing his father as the most authentic person he had ever known.<\/p>\n A journey from Anavryti to New York<\/strong><\/p>\n Curator and art critic Takis Mavrotas traced Katsichtis\u2019 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He now lives and works between studios in Athens and New York.<\/p>\n Katsichtis reflects on his personal artistic journey<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), Katsichtis said he still found it difficult to comprehend that his work had reached UNESCO\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never achieve anything in life entirely on your own. You have to listen and learn,\u201d he said. \u201cThe greatest struggle is not with others, but with yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n The exhibition opening attracted Greece\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Composition and Diversity: The Eternal Movement of Colours<\/em> runs until November 2, 2026. The exhibition opens from 9 am to 5.30 pm, with visits available by online appointment.<\/p>\n (Source: AMNA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n