TENETS

Dimitris Daskalopoulos about his collecting

I marvel at the inspired, creative existence that is the intricate and inexplicable reality of the human being. A finite, vulnerable organism which despite its inherent knowledge of its restrictions and susceptibility, is simultaneously capable of such vision, ingenuity, imagination and resourcefulness. An existence which exhibits a constant will to prevail over the inexplicable and to conquer the unfathomable complexity of what surrounds it. A being that, driven by a will to live, feel, enjoy and create can overcome or cope with any adversity, whether external or of its own making.

Through my collection I try to identify depictions of this reality, this mystery, as I see it expressed in artists’ works. By putting different works of art in dialogue, I try to create an imagery that expresses this constant tension between life and death, between futility and immortality, an image of the human struggle and its propensity towards optimism and endeavour instead of nihilism and abandon.

Collecting principle

The collection is imbued by the principle that collecting is about creating a rich web of relationships among artworks, whose connected totality of meaning is more complex than the simple sum of all single artworks in the collection.  It is interesting to note that the etymological root of the Greek word collect (συλλέγω) means “saying something with”.

The collection’s inner compass is a magnetic orientation towards the most elemental, diachronic and age-old issue of the human condition. Despite the fact that its holdings chronologically fall within the artistic practice of the last few decades, this orientation distances it away from following the ephemeral artistic or social trends of the moment.

Amongst the themes that run through the collection, the notion of the body as a source of creativity and the vessel of existential, social and ideological struggle is a compelling and repeatedly examined motif.

The Collection as a repository

The D.Daskalopoulos Collection considers its role to be that of a temporary caretaker of the physical manifestation of great ideas and artistic creativity. In order for the power of the ideas embodied by the artworks to achieve maximum impact, it is a necessity for art’s message to be shared and disseminated amongst an audience as wide as possible, which is a goal the D.Daskalopoulos Collection aspires to.

The collection’s physical objects are treated as a repository to be utilized by institutions and curators and as an open resource to interact with other private or public collections or institutions towards disseminating art’s essential message.

It is in this spirit that the D.Daskalopoulos Collection has had a long standing open lending policy and has made its holdings available to public institutions that chose to present curated exhibitions drawing from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection to their audiences. (see EXHIBITIONS)