October 14, 2025
by Coming out of his cave, man faces the relief of the earth, observes it to see how he will survive. There, suddenly, he discovers that on the ridges lie down figures are formed. Heads, noses, mouths, bodies, enormous, gigantic.
He thinks that there are entities great, superior to him and he calls them gods. He sees them lying down, quiet, calm, as if they are sleeping.
When the weather phenomena are intense, the figures are lost in the chaos. He thinks that they have become angry, have risen up and are creating all this turmoil, so he decides that he must do something to appease them. He sets up sanctuaries on these mountains, makes small effigies of them and places them as votive offerings of protection. He appoints people to perform rituals and be responsible in these places.
He travels, discovering the existence of figures on the sides of mountains and rocks that appear at moments when the sun sends its rays from a specific angle of incidence. The ones he locates in the sea are clearer. Within a canvas colored with shades of blue, the ridges of the islands and rocks become more distinct.
And this is how their religious history evolves, with later leaders and kings becoming the mediators of gods and people. Busts, statues, illustrations become essential elements for recording their history. Following them, the upper class creates portraits that are placed on tombs to accompany them into eternity.
So that all this does not get lost, myths are created, to tell and preserve the history of human existence. I do not know if they were indeed real figures and will wake up someday or if they are a game devised by the God Eros, co-creator of this world.
With this in mind, the present exhibition was created. The works (oil paintings, encaustic, fresco), based on ancient techniques, such as tetrachromy, complete the above narrative. Figurines (some copies, others transformed by the artist), love, drawings from rock paintings, portraits in the Fayum style, constitute the connecting link of this exhibition.
So let us begin our journey and if a similar memory of sleeping gods emerges from within us, perhaps we were the ones who came out of the cave.
Curator / Organizer: Emilia Kougia
Konstantinos Veroutis – Curriculum Vitae
I was born in Athens and my love for painting led me to complete my studies in art conservation in 1993. I worked as a conservator at the Ministry of Culture for many years on icons and frescoes from the 13th to the 18th century, as well as in the organization of Ecclesiastical Museums in the Cyclades. I have worked abroad, in a conservation studio in Nantes, France, and have participated in conferences on the subject of icon conservation.
My studies in painting have to do with hagiography and free drawing.
My thematic, anthropocentric, is based on man as a unit and entity.
I have four solo exhibitions to my credit and have participated in several group exhibitions. I have developed the educational program for elementary school children entitled: “Hagiography, the first form of abstraction”, in collaboration with the Directorate of Primary Education of Western Attica, which was successfully presented in many elementary schools. I organized the educational programs at the Numismatic Museum on the occasion of International Museum Day in 2019.
Finally, in my workshop I teach egg tempera and encaustic painting in the form of a seminar for adults.
