Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika

Produced under the auspices of the abolished National Welfare Organization (NWO), now belonging to the collections of the National Centre for Social Solidarity, the tapestries reproduced paintings by well-known Greek artists such as Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, Giannis Moralis, Giannis Tsarouhis, Spiros Vassiliou, Jannis Spyropoulos, Nikos Nikolaou as well as Giannis Faitakis, director at the Tapestry school.

Trained in Aubusson, France, the NWΟ weavers employed the French weaving technique. Each tapestry was weaved upside down, in a horizontal loom. Weavers worked from the back side, that is, they weaved the tapestry on the wrong side. They had, however, a hand mirror, which they put through the unwoven warps holding it to reflect the right side of the portion in process. Wool, linen and silk were used as raw materials. The weavers’ mastery was highly dependent on their skill to interpret the painting into the language of weaving, a particularly laborious process that could well take from 8 months to a year.

Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika entitled the National Welfare Organization to reproduce four of his works in tapestries: “Dinner by the Sea”, “Hydra Moon”, “Rocks by the Sea”, “Wattle Fences in Garden” –the last being displayed as part of the Cycladic Café Art Project–, as well a carpet named after the artist, “Gkika Carpet”.

Curated by: Tina Daskalantonaki