Sculpture Exhibition at the Arrival Hall of the Central Port of Patras – Reception into Memory
The emblematic sculptor Memas Kalogiratos presents a compelling sculpture exhibition at the arrival hall of the Central Port of Patras — a place where movement meets memory, and the sea intersects with art.
Born in 1940 in the village of Petrikata on the island of Kefalonia, Kalogiratos moved with his family to Patras after the Occupation, where he completed his schooling. In 1957, he began apprenticing under the icon painter and painter Georgios Papadimitriou (“Faon”), and from 1960 to 1966 he studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts, first in the workshop of Yiannis Pappas and later in the newly founded workshop of Thanassis Apartis, with whom he later collaborated on the installation of the statue of Chrysostomos of Smyrna in Nea Smyrni.
While still a student, he held his first solo exhibition in 1965 at the Patras Municipal Gallery, while also actively participating in the student protests of the “114” movement. The dictatorship, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War left a profound mark on his consciousness—something that resonates deeply in his work. Without ever abandoning sculpture, he worked for years as a laborer, bronze caster, and assistant in the construction of monuments. A decisive chapter in his artistic life was his collaboration with Christos Kapralos, from whom he received powerful aesthetic and ethical influence.
From 1970 to 2008, he held solo exhibitions in venues such as Ora, Studio Gallery, the Arethousa Hotel, Dada Gallery, the Argostoli Philharmonic, Enstasis Gallery, the Psychiko Art Hall, Ersi Gallery, and Polytropon at the Castle of Saint George. He participated in numerous group exhibitions and monument competitions, while his work was extensively discussed in publications such as Zygos and Rizospastis. In 2015, the monograph Memas Kalogiratos: Glyptotheque was published by Dora F. Markatou, and in 2022 the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation produced a documentary on his life’s work, directed by Yiannis Katomeris.
The exhibition at the port of Patras is not merely an important artistic event but also a deeply personal return. His works, sculpted with intense expressiveness, depict figures that seem to emerge from the depths of history—echoes of war, hope, and spiritual quest. The port terminal is thus transformed into a meeting ground: between journey and rootedness, between the pulse of daily life and the timeless stillness of marble.
With his gaze turned toward the Greek soul and the need for collective introspection, Memas Kalogiratos invites us to a visual experience filled with depth and emotion.
The exhibition is supported by the Patras Port Authority and the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation.