The renowned architect, engineer and artist Santiago Calatrava presents for the first time an exhibition dedicated to his body of sculptures and paintings inspired by Greek Antiquity.

The exhibition takes place in Glyptothek, Munich and is titled “Beyond Hellas”.

The show focuses on Calatrava’s new sculptural series titled “The Aegineten”, which was developed over the last two decades. The collection features 14 wrought iron large format sculptures on a base of aged oak, which appear as modern variations of the ancient warriors of the Temple of Aphaia, in Aegina. The works are inspired by Calatrava’s first encounter with the marble works from the Late Archaic temple, which features scenes of the Trojan Wars.

The Temple of Aphaia was stripped of his sculptures during the period of Ottoman rule by C.R. Cockerell,  an antiquarian traveling in Greece in 1811-12 and his friends.

The temple’s sculptures remain in Munich today, at Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek.

Along with these sculptures the exhibition features a selection of 30 drawings, watercolors, and preparatory studies, in addition to sculptures from past series, which highlight Calatrava’s study of the human body and nature, a continuous inspiration to his architectural style. All works connect simultaneously with the general theme of Antiquity, which is intrinsic to Greek culture.

The exhibition is curated by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz, and Florian Knauss.

On the occation of the exibition “Beyond Hellas”, Santiago Calatrava talked to Eleni Zymaraki Tzortzi. Continue reading …