Welcome to Galerie Zygos of Athens, Greece!
This is the legacy website of Zygos fine arts magazine, est. 1955, and Galerie Zygos, est. in 1956 in Athens, Greece, founded as an ambitious low-budget effort of a young couple to fill the void of the then contemporary art scene of Athens, against the odds, and in spite of the general indifference of the wider public, but also of the government agencies, on the contemporary arts and culture.
"Zygos" arts magazine was first published November 1955 in Athens, by Frantzis Frantzeskakis (1926-2010), a young journalist and connoisseur of the arts, -the youngest brother of well-known and much respected Greek painter Errikos Frantziskakis (1908-1958)-, and Frantzis' wife Catherine. Together, they launched the publication of Zygos magazine which proved to be Greece's most authoritative and longest-lived (1955-1983) fine arts magazine to date.
In 1956, a year later, the legendary Galerie Zygos was established in Athens by the couple. It was the first professionally-organized fine arts gallery of Greece, and over time it exhibited the work of the finest Greek artists, and not only.
From 1963 to 1965 Zygos also operated to Roloi, the first center for applied arts in Greece, directed by Catherine Frantzeskakis, introducing over 400 innovative and creative applications by emerging but also by established Greek artists of the time.
In 1982 "Zygos Annual Edition on the Hellenic Fine Arts" (1982-1985), was launched by Zygos, representing the only reference source for Greek contemporary fine arts and culture in English to date, edited by Ion Frantzeskakis, the founders' elder son.
Between the years 1985 and 1991 Zygos operated Zygos Gallery on 403 7th and D Streets NW, in Washington, D.C., exhibiting both Greek, Greek-American, American and international artists, under the direction of Ion Frantzeskakis.
In 1991 Ion moved to Northern California and got involved in publishing, but soon added Stoa Gallery at the first floor ballroom of 11 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, Sonoma County, to his activities (1994-1997).
In 2000, Ion repatriated to Athens, his hometown, and soon reopened and directed Galerie Zygos which had temporarily ceased operations due to his parents' retirement. Galerie Zygos stayed in business through April 2009, when it closed permanently due to the economic crisis in Greece.
In 1956, a year later, the legendary Galerie Zygos was established in Athens by the couple. It was the first professionally-organized fine arts gallery of Greece, and over time it exhibited the work of the finest Greek artists, and not only.
From 1963 to 1965 Zygos also operated to Roloi, the first center for applied arts in Greece, directed by Catherine Frantzeskakis, introducing over 400 innovative and creative applications by emerging but also by established Greek artists of the time.
In 1982 "Zygos Annual Edition on the Hellenic Fine Arts" (1982-1985), was launched by Zygos, representing the only reference source for Greek contemporary fine arts and culture in English to date, edited by Ion Frantzeskakis, the founders' elder son.
Between the years 1985 and 1991 Zygos operated Zygos Gallery on 403 7th and D Streets NW, in Washington, D.C., exhibiting both Greek, Greek-American, American and international artists, under the direction of Ion Frantzeskakis.
In 1991 Ion moved to Northern California and got involved in publishing, but soon added Stoa Gallery at the first floor ballroom of 11 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, Sonoma County, to his activities (1994-1997).
In 2000, Ion repatriated to Athens, his hometown, and soon reopened and directed Galerie Zygos which had temporarily ceased operations due to his parents' retirement. Galerie Zygos stayed in business through April 2009, when it closed permanently due to the economic crisis in Greece.
"Over these last decades, Galerie Zygos, along with Zygos magazine devoted entirely to the fine arts, has been one of the main centers -if not the center- of all new artistic developments in Greece. It has kept the artloving public abreast of current trends in art (giving the Athenians their first-ever introduction to the work of Picasso, for example, in the early 60's), and in general it has made good use of its exhibition halls and the pages of its publications to illustrate the aspirations and attainments of Greek contemporary art in the fullest possible way..."
Chrysanthos Christou (1922-2016)
Professor of History of Art, University of Bonn and Athens University; Member, Academy of Athens
