Evangelos Papadopoulos, a journalist and painter, will open a new art exhibition on Monday, September 30, at 19:30, at the Educational Foundation of the Union of Journalists in Athens. This event showcases his artistic journey, combining his two passions.
The well-known journalist, also a member of the Union of Journalists, returns to the art scene with new works alongside older pieces. The exhibition will be held in the gallery on the first floor of the Union (Academy Street 20) and will remain open until October 7, 2024.
His artworks encompass various themes and forms, including portraits, landscapes, ships, beaches, rocks, candles, nudes, and significant events.
Evangelos Papadopoulos is recognized from his television and radio work, particularly for the award-winning program “Midday Appointment” on ERT, as well as his contributions to newspapers and magazines. He entered the visual arts in 1963.
He has held three consecutive exhibitions at the Onassis Cultural Centre in Kavala, later at the Marios Vaianos Cultural Agency in Athens, and subsequently in Thessaloniki and several regional cities, effectively communicating his work to a broader audience.
Papadopoulos trained under the artist Theodoros Drosos as a young man, preparing for entrance exams to the School of Fine Arts. He also practiced Byzantine iconography in monasteries, learning from master monks at Mount Athos and painting the chapel of the 11th Brigade.
Over 600 of his works are held in various private and public collections.
Noteworthy Critique
Notable was the critique of Evangelos Papadopoulos’s early work in 1965 by the late Emilios Chourmouziadis, the director of the newspaper “Kathimerini.”
In May 1965, while presenting his works at the “Palladio” hotel, Chourmouziadis remarked:
“For the work of my young colleague Evangelos Papadopoulos, I can only repeat what I wrote in my recent editorial: art requires not just the cultivation of form, but also absolute emotional identification with the subject of inspiration… The highest ideal of the creator is not to create art for art’s sake. However, can art serve purposes? Certainly. Our ancient predecessors set the example. Writers and artists are always carriers of ideas, and they express these ideas through their work.
Art in a vacuum is unthinkable… The purpose in art begins with self-dedication to an ideal, a moral code of life, and certain values—beginning with a moral and spiritual experience—thus making the work of art an expression of the soul: sincerity, enthusiasm, and passion.
All these elements, above all, contribute to what makes the voice of the soul a work of art: the communication with others through aesthetic expression… The gaze provides the fact. The perspective provides the composition. And the fact is limited in its description. The composition is demanding. It is art. These observations pertain to the work of the young painter and colleague, Evangelos Papadopoulos.”
