iconTechnique: Ink on canvas
Athéna Ménékratis is an artist of Greek-Dutch origin born in 1978 in Cannes, France. She received training in art and design at the prestigious Chelsea College in London and Middlesex University. She is a multidisciplinary artist who works as a visual artist, photographer, visual communications designer, painter and designer in a hyperrealist style. From the cultural heritage of the past in all its forms (films, music, fashion, post-war artistic movements) she draws her energy and ideas to create works representative of Contemporary Art and Art. Modern*. She is notably the cousin of Iris Clert, a Parisian gallery owner recognized for her great achievements and her promotion of contemporary art.
As part of the 64th Cannes International Film Festival, she presented a collection of hyperrealistic drawings and paintings. This exhibition, entitled "Fashion and Acting", referred to the themes of cinematic imagery inspired by the 60s, film noir and great iconic figures. More recently, Athéna Ménékratis was chosen to paint the portrait of Philippe Bender, on the occasion of a tribute paid to this great conductor and artistic director of the Côte d'Azur. In her series of portraits, where features are defined by fine calligraphy, she tells the story of each individual that she detects through the unique characteristics of their faces.
* “ Modern art is based on the transgression of the rules of classical figuration (impressionism, cubism, surrealism, etc.). Contemporary art transgresses the very notion of a work of art as it is commonly accepted. For example, the work will no longer be made by the artist's hand but machined by third parties. The artistic act no longer resides in the manufacture of the object but in its design, in the discourses which accompany it, the reactions which it arouses... The work can be ephemeral, evolving, biodegradable, blasphemous, indecent. » (excerpt from an interview with Nathalie Heinich published in Nouvel Observateur about her book The Paradigm of Contemporary Art )
Collective exhibitions
- 2014 - Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, France
- 2014 - Francesco Smalto during the Cannes Film Festival, France
- 2013 - Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, France
- 2013 - Exhibition "Fashion and Acting" at the Arista Gallery, Cannes, France
- 2013 - André Villers Photography Museum, Mougins, France
- 2013 - Hotel 3.14, Cannes, France
- 2012 - Barclays Bank, Cannes, France
- 2012 - Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, France
- 2010 - Cannes Jumping, Frances
Solo exhibitions
- 2015 to present - Maison Francesco Smalto, Cannes, France (exhibition on the theme of masculine elegance in cinema; the great actors dressed by Francesco Smalto)
- 2015 - Cinema Icons , at the Arista Gallery, Cannes, France
- 2013 - Club of Monegasque Foreign Residents, Monaco
- 2011 - Barclays Bank, Cannes, France
- 2011 - Arista Gallery, Cannes, France. (Special exhibition during the Cannes Film Festival on the theme of elegance and cinema icons)
Public collections
- London, Dubai, New York, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg
Private collections
- Foundation of Monaco for Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco
- André Villers Photography Museum in Mougins, France