June 22 – October 23, 2022

“When I stood in front of the warriors at the Temple of Aphaia in the Glyptothek, I witnessed an unexpected modernity, and beyond the perfection of classicism”

—Santiago Calatrava

The Glyptothek is pleased to present After Hellas: Santiago Calatrava in the Glyptothek the first exhibition devoted exclusively to the sculptural and painting works of renowned architect Santiago Calatrava.

The main focus will be his new sculptural series, a body of work which has been in development for the last 20 years and comprises fourteen wrought iron large format sculptures on a base of aged oak, which appear as modern, almost abstract variations of the ancient warriors of the Temple of Aphaia. Complementing these sculptures will be 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.

Curated by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz, and Florian Knauss, director of the Glyptothek, the exhibition features an exceptional dialogue between the sculptural permanent collection of the Glyptothek, and Santiago Calatrava´s artwork. More than two decades ago, while visiting the Staatliche Antikensammlungen and Glyptothek, Santiago Calatrava was deeply enthused by the marble works from the Late Archaic temple of Aphaia in Aegina. These dynamic sculptural groups (Athena, with groups of combatants, fallen warriors, and arms), located at the east and west pediments of the temple, featured scenes of the epic Trojans Wars. This encounter led Santiago Calatrava to create a colossal corpus of sculptural work over the past 20 years, entitled The Aegineten, large format sculptures in wrought iron, and hundreds of drawings in the spirit of the circular dynamic compositions of the positions and the shields of the ancient warriors in the temple, but using a modern vocabulary.

This illuminating exhibition follows Calatrava’s career as a sculptor and elucidates how he has been influenced by the antiquity and heritage of “Hellas”, the term the ancient Greeks used to describe their lands, named after the founding father of all Greek tribes.

Beyond Hellas: Santiago Calatrava in the Glyptothek will be carried out in collaboration with the Santiago Calatrava studio.

A catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition.