Taking place at Kourd Gallery between November 22 and February 25, 2023, the exhibition “After the Role: Portraits of Actors” features twenty-three photographic portraits of Greek and foreign actors.

Three photographers have contributed colour and black-and-white portraits to the exhibition. The German actress and photographer Margarita Broich, the visual artist Vangelis Kyris, and the photographer and painter Kanella Tragousti depict actors from different perspectives: as individuals, as faces, and as artists after their performative interpretations are over.

Curated by Eleni Varopoulou, the show centers on the struggle of actors with their roles and all the roles assumed by the photographic gaze. The distinctive actor-role relationship comes to light and is captured after the end of the theatrical performance or the filming.

According to the curator, some portraits depict the actors in small staged situations after the curtain has fallen. The faces, isolated as they are in theatre spaces, either on or backstage, appear along with a remnant of the role, with elements of the staging, the strenuous and painful experience of the preceding performance still fresh (Margarita Broich).

Other portraits emphasize the human face right as the human form invokes the myth surrounding an actor’s life. The faces appear stylized, priestly, and distant as the photographer glorifies the notion of a personality beyond the role and emphasizes the idea of an idealized pose as a new role after the role. (Vangelis Kyris).

Lastly, there are portraits where actors are part of ephemeral and demystifying daily life. They randomly pass by in front of the lens that rushes to capture their imperceptible gesture, their presence in the urban landscape, their fleeting glance, just an unpretentious moment after the performance (Kanella Tragousti).”

The portraits depict truly famous actors, woven into the daily mythologies of all who love theatre, dance, and cinema, worldwide.

Visitors will come across beloved faces and expressions, costumes, accessories, postures, movements, and especially the gazes of actors like John Malkovich, Kate Winslet, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Angela Winkler, Gerd Foss, Sophie Reuss, Martin Wutke, Michelle Piccoli, Bruno Ganz, Willem Dafoe, Irene Jacob, Kariofyllia Karabeti, Christina Hogios, Themis Bazaka, Katerina Didaskalou, Aris Servetalis, Lena Papaligoura, Thanasis Giannakopoulos, Sergey Polunin, Yannis Stankoglou, and Antinoos Albanis.

Kourd Gallery, Athens.
2 Kassianis str.

Exhibition hours: Tuesday to Friday: 12 – 20 pm.