Dimitris Alithinos: Shaping Contemporary Greek Art Through Social Concerns and Global Dialogues

Dimitris Alithinos, an artist with a continuous presence since the 1970s, has significantly influenced contemporary Greek art. His work engages with social issues and explores global visual language. In 1981, alongside his visual creations, Alithinos initiated the ongoing Concealments project, warning about environmental destruction and human extinction. To date, 214 Concealments are hidden worldwide, spanning from the North to the South Pole and across the East and West.

Responding to globalization’s impact, he created the series Standing Up for the Cultures of the World and Offerings in 1985, emphasizing the preservation of cultural diversity. Alithinos has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad, including the Venice Biennale in 1997. His significant retrospective was hosted by the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) in 2013, and he received recognition from the Association of Greek Art Critics for his contributions. Alithinos studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. His diverse body of work encompasses painting, collage, prose, artistic actions, constructions, installations, and environmental interventions. In the early 1970s, he began exhibiting at the Desmos gallery and undertook artistic actions in European cities, aiming to redefine the language of painting and engage with social spaces. His 1979 work, “Artistic Action – Script in Space,” proposed a shift towards direct communication with the public. In the 1980s, Alithinos explored new artistic directions with the Baroxysme and Moments in Times series, distancing himself from physical intervention. His Concealments project began in 1981, influenced by encounters with forgotten civilizations, and evolved into intercultural collaborations from 1993 onwards, actively involving himself in the everyday and religious lives of people from various cultures. Alithinos has exhibited internationally, including the Paris Biennale of Young Artists (1980), Sao Paulo Biennale (1983), Istanbul Biennale (1989), and his retrospective at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (2013). He currently resides and works in Athens.