“When Pictures Paint a Thousand Words” from Benaki Museum to Costa Navarino

For the third consecutive year, the Benaki Museum, Costa Navarino and Athens International Airport, join forces in a unique cultural project; to exhibit works by Nikos Hatzikyriakos-Ghika, one of the most significant Greek artists of the 20^th century.

From 26 May and until the end of November 2018, Costa Navarino is hosting the exhibition titled “When Pictures Paint a Thousand Words”, which consists of book illustrations by Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika. Known mostly for his paintings, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika began to work regularly with book illustrations from the 1930s until the 1990s. He created covers and frontispieces for poetic collections, novels and literary magazines, while he illustrated fully the Odyssey by Nikos Kazantzakis, The Poems by C. P. Cavafy, Daphnis and Chloe by Longus, and Lysistrata by Aristophanes. In most cases, he supervised the design of the entire publication himself and meticulously studied each image to be sure it would reflect the style of the text or poem.

A large collection of these book illustrations, currently belonging to the Benaki Museum Collection, are on display at various areas across Navarino Dunes: at the Westin Lobby, at 1827 Lounge Bar, at the Romanos Lobby, at Anazoe Spa entrance and at the House of Events, while information material – including a map of the exhibition, as well as guided tours and workshops are also available to Costa Navarino guests.

The exhibition is curated by Ioanna Moraiti, Curator of the Ghika Gallery Archive, and Konstantinos Papachristou, Curator of the Ghika Gallery, and is also taking place at Athens International Airport as of June 2018 and until the end of the year.

Art is an integral part of the interior design of two hotels, The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort and The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, and overall Navarino Dunes premises, including Anazoe Spa, the Dunes Clubhouse and the House of Events, as they temporarily host original works of the 17th to the 19th centuries, along with the creations of contemporary Greek and international artists, both indoors and outdoors.

The Benaki Museum is among the most extensive and innovative museum organizations in Europe. Diverse cultures, from all historical periods, meet contemporary art movements across a network of venues all over Athens.