Point 0

Klearchos Loukopoulos was one of the pioneers in the reception and establishment of modernist sculptural trends in Greek art. His realistic efforts in the interwar years gave way, post-war, to anthropocentric sculptures distinguished by their archaic abstraction, with obvious influences from Mycenaean figurines. During a "transitional period" between 1955-60, we find that he turns a new page in his work: using mainly metal, he is gradually led to more abstract and, subsequently, constructivist pursuits with solid geometric compositions, structured with purity, rigour and simplicity. "Point O", a work from the permanent collection of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, is a massive, compact construction, where the vertical axis is emphasized. The play of volumes and voids appears in an interesting climax, as an opening in the centre and protruding elements distort the sense of staticness of the whole. His case clearly combines the archaic tradition with the modern one, something to which there was a shift in the Greek art scene of the 20th century anyway. And his legacy was very important: he represented the country in many international art events (e.g. 28th and 33rd Venice Biennale in 1956 and 1966, 5th Sao Paolo Biennale, 3rd Alexandria Biennale, etc.), while there were also many honours (e.g. Ford Foundation Scholarship, Panhellenic Medal of 1948, AICA Greek Section Award in 1963, National Art Award in 1972, which he did not accept, expressing his opposition to the then political regime in Greece), which document not only his artistic identity, but also his political stance. One of the works that brought his work closer to the Greek public was his sculptural compositions for the Greek National Tourism Organization (between 1962 and 1966), which were placed in the country's hostels, one of which is that of Paliouri, a sculpture that is now also in the permanent collection of the MOMus Museum of Contemporary Art.