Andres Serrano & John Akomfrah in Piraeus

As always, when autumn arrives in the Greek capital, the city’s art scene revs into top gear. Ringing in the 2021 season: two acclaimed international artists share with Athens their compelling messages about the human spirit, in a conjoined exhibition at the port of Piraeus. 

First off the rank: provocative New York-based American, Cuban and Honduran visual artist Andres Serrano brings us “Torture”; his solo show (and Athenian debut). The act of inflicting intense physical or psychological pain from one person to another is as old as time, argues 70-year-old Serrano. His incendiary work has fired much heated global chatter about censorship, public decency and accepted forms of artistic expression (to get a taste for his oeuvre, we suggest you Google his defining works in the late 80s; often likened to those of Robert Mapplethorpe). You can see “Torture” on display at Piraeus Port’s Stone Warehouse (Gate E2) from September 9 to October 3.

Complementing it (from September 15-25) are screenings of “The Airport”, a 2016 three-screen video installation on the Greek financial crisis by one of the UK’s trailblazing filmmakers, John Akomfrah; shot in the old Athens airport site at Elliniko. Akomfrah, originally from Ghana, is one of the few international artists to capture Greece’s well-documented struggles with such poetic grace. 

This free double exhibition is curated by Sozita Goudouna and organized by the Greece in USA initiative, as part of the Artport programme of the Piraeus Municipal Theater.

“The Airport” will be screened daily at noon, 5 pm and 7 pm (with 15 people allowed in at a time). The website link is in Greek but you can call the Piraeus Municipal Theater on +30 210.419.4550 for more details.