Photo: Georgios Makkas

Alekos Fassianos Museum

Photo: Georgios Makkas

Enter the Alekos Fassianos universe in the company of fantastic birds and cupids.

When was it built

A beautiful neoclassical building, the site was home to the Fassianos family in the 1930s. The townhouse was demolished in 1970 and a polykatoikia (Athenian apartment building) was erected in its place. Along with his close friend and prominent architect Kyriakos Krokos, Fassianos remodelled the newly built polykatoikia over the course of two decades, completing their work in 1996. The museum opened its doors to the public on April 26th, 2023 .

What's the story

The idea of housing a museum at the very site of his family home was conceived by Fassianos himself and brought to life by his daughter, Viktoria. It will initially exhibit Fassianos' work in Athens and Paris up to 1980. The collection on display will be updated on a regular basis so that visitors may better grasp the range of the artist's work from 1959 to 2019.

Why it's important

The museum is run by the Alekos Fassianos Estate and aims at facilitating research into the creator’s oeuvre by opening a dialogue with fellow artists, researchers, curators and the public. By employing an interdisciplinary approach, the Estate will be hosting temporary exhibitions and academic events in collaboration with other cultural institutions. Awarded by the Athens Academy, Fassianos was also an Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts, as well as Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la Légion d’Honneur.

Must-see

Start from the museum itself. During the building’s remodelling, architect Kyriakos Krokos and Fassianos applied their mutual aesthetic approach to every detail of the museum. The result is a setting that stands in an ongoing dialogue with the artworks it houses.

Fun fact

“Alas to those who lose their childishness!”, Fassianos once said. An “eternal teenager” himself, he cherished the creativity and innocence of man’s childhood years. In order to honour his view, before the museum opened to the public it only hosted educational programmes for youngsters.