The National Hellenic Museum (NHM) in Chicago is proud to present new works by HRH Prince Nikolaos at this year’s EXPO CHICAGO international art fair, April 13-16, 2023 at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, 600 E. Grand Avenue in Chicago. The exhibition marks NHM’s EXPO CHICAGO debut.
Prince Nikolaos will exhibit a collection of photographs printed on Greek marble, combining the beauty of antiquity with the modernity of digital printing in a new method uniquely his own. The works are in black and white, so that the clarity of the natural marble comes through unadulterated and only the black hues of the images are printed.
“Prince Nikolaos weaves a complex story through his artistic process, often merging subject and medium. Here he achieves this by printing images of Greece directly onto Greek ‘earth,’ specifically on the crisp white marble of Thasos,” says curator Marilena Koutsoukou. “This method is unique to the artist, taking photography and the printing process one step further. It has enabled him to combine the Greek natural element and the beauty of antiquity with the modernity and directness of digital printing. He harnesses the strength of the material, uses its flaws and elevates them, rather than hiding them under the image printed. He allows us to see the perennial beauty of marble through his lens, making it both a surface as well as a theme itself.”
Prince Nikolaos’ North American exhibition debut, Resilience, is currently on display at the National Hellenic Museum through Saturday, April 15. This striking collection of 19 new works explores Greece’s enduring relationship with nature and the importance of environmental preservation. Among the features works is the North American premiere of Together, an immersive scene of life-size illuminated, embracing olive trees accompanied by sounds of Greek nature, which first premiered at the London Design Biennale in 2021. For more information, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org/resilience.
Resilience is generously sponsored by the John S. Koudounis Family and curated by Marilena Koutsoukou.
The National Hellenic Museum (333 S. Halsted Street, Chicago) is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The museum is closed on Sunday, April 16 in observance of Greek Orthodox Easter. Tickets are $10 and include admission to all exhibits, with special discounts available for seniors, students and children. Admission to the museum is always free for NHM Members. For more information on current exhibitions, events and memberships, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234.
EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art features leading international galleries alongside a leading platform for contemporary art and cultural programming. Hosted within historic Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, EXPO CHICAGO presents a diverse and inventive program, including /Dialogues (presented in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago) and Exchange by Northern Trust: An Interactive Conversation Around the Art of Collecting, unrivaled talks programs for both public and VIP audiences; IN/SITU, dynamic on-site installations highlighting large-scale sculpture, film, and site-specific work; and major public art initiatives, including IN/SITU Outside, public art installed throughout Chicago Park District locations, and OVERRIDE | A Billboard Project, a curated selection of international artists throughout the city’s digital billboard network. The EXPO CHICAGO program also features an unprecedented commitment to host curatorial initiatives during the exposition, including the Curatorial Forum in partnership with Independent Curators International (ICI), and the Curatorial Exchange, which partners with foreign agencies and consulates to expand the exposition’s global reach EXPO CHICAGO is presented by Art Expositions, LLC. Under the leadership of President and Director Tony Karman, EXPO CHICAGO draws upon the city’s rich history as a vibrant international cultural destination, while highlighting the region’s contemporary arts community and inspiring its collector base. For more information on EXPO CHICAGO, visit expochicago.com.
The National Hellenic Museum (NHM) is the premier US museum dedicated to sharing Greek history, art and culture, from ancient times to the present day, including the modern Greek American experience. NHM preserves the Hellenic legacy and makes this rich heritage relevant today through its extensive collection of more than 10,000 physical artifacts, hundreds of oral histories, exhibitions, educational programs and special events. Originally founded in 1983 and located in Chicago’s historic Greektown neighborhood since 2011, the museum provides lifelong learning for the community and sparks inquiry and discussion about the broader issues in our lives and society. Regular museum hours are Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. NHM is closed on Sunday, April 16, in observance of Greek Orthodox Easter. For more information, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234.
Bio for HRH Prince Nikolaos
HRH Prince Nikolaos was born in October 1969, in Rome, Italy, to parents TM King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie. In 1975, the family settled in London, where Prince Nikolaos was home educated for six years. He then attended the Hellenic College of London. In 1988, he began his studies in international relations at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, focusing on Diplomacy and National Security. During his sophomore year, he took a sabbatical to join the British Army on a Short Service Limited Commission, serving as 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Upon his college graduation, Prince Nikolaos moved into TV production for Fox News in New York. He returned to London in 1995 to work in the foreign exchange options department of NatWest Markets. From 1997 to 2003 he worked in King Constantine’s Family Office. Since then, he has been active in business consulting.
An avid photographer for all his life, Prince Nikolaos has passionately dedicated himself to photography since 2013. In November 2015, he exhibited his work for the first time at Christie’s in London. In March 2016, his photography was featured at The New York Times’ Art for Tomorrow conference in Doha, Qatar. A selection of his photographs were also published in the book A Taste of Greece, published by teNeues. In June 2018, Prince Nikolaos had his first solo museum exhibition, titled “Phos: A Journey of Light,” at the Hellenic Museum in Melbourne, Australia. The artist was then commissioned by LA Organic to produce a work, after the recommendation of Philippe Starck studio, which is currently exhibited at La Almazara, Spain. In November 2018, the artist was invited by Sotheby’s Jewelry to show 10 photographs from his series “Phos” to a select audience. Sotheby’s experts have dubbed Prince Nikolaos’ photographs “Jewels from Greece.” In March of 2019, his collection titled “Celestial Choreography” was exhibited in Rundetaarn, one of the most iconic buildings of Copenhagen, to great critical acclaim. In October and November of the same year, his dual exhibition “Aegean Desert” opened up in Athens, Greece and Doha, Qatar, respectively. The exhibition, pairing images from the sea with images of the desert presented within site-specific art installations, was the first institutional collaboration between Benaki Museum of Islamic Art in Athens and Katara – Cultural Village Foundation in Doha.
In June 2021, Prince Nikolaos exhibited his work “Together” at the London Design Biennale. There, he presented an enchanted, immersive scene of illuminated, life-sized olive trees reflected in mirrors and surrounded by sounds of Greek nature.
Prince Nikolaos sits on the Board of Knightsbridge Schools International, established in 2008 to develop and operate a network of international schools around the world. He is an active member and Advisor to the Board of Axion Hellas, a Greek nonprofit volunteer organization supporting local communities in remote parts of the country. Prince Nikolaos and his wife Princess Tatiana (née Tatiana Blatnik) married in 2010. Three years later, they moved to Athens, Greece, where they currently reside.
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Press release provided by PR Consultant Elizabeth Neukirch