The appearance of the works of Nikos Kessanlis under the title "Faces-Transformations of the human body" comes as part of a scheme for getting to know our major artists through 'monographic' shows.

The exhibition attempts a full presentation of the artist's course from his first works of 1953 to the latest ones of 1997. The thematic pretext for putting together these works is faces.

Through the adventures of the human form in the works of Kessanlis we can follow the anamorphoses and the transformations of the image, his course along many and varied routes, his investigation of the potential of the language, the clandestine link between the artwork and its realistic equivalent- life. This is essentially a retrospective through a single theme.

Radical and innovative, Kessanlis proves that the use of humble materials, construction and craftsmanship and the indifference towards aestheticism end up encompassing one single notion: the notion of an evolving work. And this work claims a classic character as the passage of time sanctions and preserves it.

His early work is permeated by the influence of his teachers, although soon he embarks on his career in the tradition of the new; this is Rome, 1957 and coincides with a renewed European interest in the Dada and the poetics of art informel. He is open to the world and the experiences that come his way in his European surroundings. He strives for the attainment of an international language and finds acclaim in relation to the era and the culture of the postwar adventure of art. In fact, the work of Kessanlis begins to assume its own form with the informel in the early 1960s and the gestures, the anamorphoses and the transformations of the image, which resurfaces after the adventures the artist had in store for it; it does so by anti-painting means which end up upholding the case for painting. The human form, always present from the first moment, makes its presence openly and forcefully felt in the "chapter" on Mec Art-a European movement in which Nikos was one of the exponents. Photography does not interest Kessanlis as a technique but as a means, a material and a way for examining and redefining his relationship with the light.

A few months ago we saw the entire oeuvre of Nikos Kessanlis in "Thessaloniki - Cultural City of Europe '97", an enriched version of which we are to see in Athens next winter. This interim exhibition, organized by the Centre For Contemporary Visual Creations at the "L. Kanakakis" Municipal Gallery, recreates exactly the same course on the basis of the single most important theme in the history of painting: man. The interesting thing in the Thessaloniki show, which is even more evident in Rethymnon, is how the thousand things that arouse the curiosity of the artist who passionately attempts to find the answers -as many answers as can be given by an artist who chooses to be on a constant quest - take the artwork 'two steps forward / one step back', thus producing it in a dynamic way as they are constantly seeking to subvert it. Any beauty or fascination is to be found in the lack of a "decorative" aspect in the work; in the unfolding, the concealment and the emergence of a huge existential agony. The artist himself, Chryssa, the Friends and the people who make up the works are engaged in a dialogue with the agony of the image to transcend the rule by breaking it.

It may be that the materials and the syntax of Kessanlis constitute another "academy" these days. However, the frenetic times that raised them certainly did not encourage works of this kind. We should therefore see the works and the artist as part of the Sixties and Seventies and appreciate them as the sinful "objects" of those days but still with something to say today, not only as historical documentation but as works sanctioned by time. My warmest thanks ôo Nikos Kessanlis for the realization of this wonderful show. My thanks also to Yorghos Tzirtzilakis for all his effort in presenting these works and his fresh look on them.

The Mayor of Rethymnon and chairman of the Centre's Board was on our side as always, together with the members of the Board, allowing us to realize our vision. For one more time the staff of the Centre and the Municipal Gallery, Katerina Kouyoumtzi, Yorghos Anyfantakis, Nota Karamanea, gave their best, while the contribution of Maria Panagidou in organizing the exhibition was invaluable. Finally, a big thank you from all of us to Zacharias Portalakis who supported us for one more time and gave us the opportunity to host this show of Nikos Kessanlis in our city.

Maria Marangou
Director of the Rethymnon Centre for Contemporary Art

(This text is an introduction to the catalog of the exhibition "Nikos Kessanlis: Faces-Transformations of the human body" held in 1997 at the Rethymnon Centre for Contemporary Art)