From October 24 to December 3, 2023, the City of Athens Arts Center, Eleftherias Park, will host an exhibition titled “Nassos Daphnis, CITY WALLS: From New York to Athens1969-2023”. The exhibition showcases the works of the Greek-American artist Nassos Daphnis (1914-2010). The exhibition, curated by Katerina Koskina, a Doctor in the History of Art and a consultant for Cultural issues to the Mayor of Athens, and Richard Taittinger, the President of the Nassos Daphnis Estate, is organized by the City of Athens Culture, Sports and Youth Organization (OPANDA), in collaboration with the Richard Taittinger Gallery and the City of Athens Culture Office. The exhibition is part of the Culture is Athens project.
In 1969, Daphne’s career took a significant turn as he had his first retrospective exhibition in New York at the famous Albright-Knox Art Gallery. He was also an honoured artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Annual Exhibition “Contemporary American Painting” in the same year. Between 1969 and 1975, he worked on three colossal-sized projects for City Walls Inc. in New York City buildings.
The first mural was painted in September 1969 on the side of a six-story building in Madison Square Park on 26th Street. The mural featured four concentric circles in primary colours, joined to create a curved rectangle in the centre, reminiscent of a Roman dome, which contrasted fancifully with the very ordinary facade of the building.
Daphne’s final mural began in 1972 when he was commissioned to create a work on the sixteen-floor structural frame of an office tower that was being built in Times Square, New York. The painting’s ability to traverse all the city blocks was a solid and exciting artistic attraction in New York, and it remained visible until the 1980s.
Unfortunately, all three City Walls works by Nasos Daphnis have been lost today. However, the City of Athens and the Estate Nassos Daphnis are taking steps to “transfer” the 1st City Walls mural to the centre of Athens in 2023.
Duration of the exhibition: October 24–December 3, 2023
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 11:00 – 16:00, Saturday – Sunday 10:00 – 15:00, The exhibition will remain closed on Mondays
Free admission.
City of Athens Arts Center:
Vas. Sofias Avenue, Eleftherias Park, Megaro Moussikis Metro Station:
Information: 210 7232604 – 210 7224028