Athens, March 3, 2026 – The Athens Engraving Center – PANDOLFINI & SIATERLI M.K.O. will present “Tavy Notton & Lela Paschali: A Graphic Duet,” an exhibition dedicated to two leading engravers, at the ETCH INK art space from March 6 to March 28, 2026.
A Unique Artistic Dialogue
The exhibition, drawn from the significant Grands Livres Collection of George Kostopoulos, offers a unique artistic dialogue between Tavy Notton (1914-1977) and Lela Paschali (1914-1977). It provides an opportunity to observe how two distinct artistic approaches can convey a shared concern for the human condition. Both contemporaries, described as tireless and deeply anthropocentric, Notton and Paschali are not merely presented through individual works; rather, their creations engage in a profound conversation, revealing their common roots in European tradition and their shared memories of the traumatic 1940s in Greece.
Art as Social Commentary
True to the European tradition that emerged with printing, the two artists did not limit themselves to aesthetic perfection but transformed it into a sharp form of social criticism. Their art was forged during the harsh years of 1930s Greece and the German Occupation. From the Byzantine monasteries of Boeotia to the grim reality of Averoff Prisons and the emaciated children of Athens in 1943, their work constitutes a poignant chronicle of survival and faith in humanity.
The exhibition features two rare books-albums with original engravings by the artists, presented in their entirety and in dialogue. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore Notton’s work through his illustrations for Oscar Wilde’s “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” (1951). His images speak of confinement and the absolute humiliation of the condemned prisoner, the anti-hero of the work. With sharpness, detail, and masterful skill, his illustrations of incarceration are imprinted both visually and spiritually. Every detail, scene, and image in his work intensifies the grim and suffocating sense of psychological imprisonment, anonymity, annihilation, and the arduous struggle for survival.
Lela Paschali’s work responds through her illustrations for Jehan Rictus’s “Le Coeur Populaire” (1950). The images in her work transport the visitor to the cabarets and impoverished neighborhoods of Paris, isolating the precise moment of social downfall. Where Notton perceives spiritual torment, Paschali responds with the raw reality of Paris’s downtrodden. Her lines converse with Notton’s darkness as she captures scenes of decay and exploitation: from barefoot children in the Parisian streets, the stooped bodies of men and women, to the “troubled” buildings, Paschali rejects any idealization or embellishment, instead directly portraying destitution.
The exhibition text is authored by Stavros Deligiorgis.
Accompanying Event
As a parallel activity, on the evening of Friday, March 27, Petros Christakis will present a musical evening inspired by the exhibition’s works.
Exhibition Details
- Opening: Friday, March 6, 2026, 18:30 – 22:30
- Duration: March 6 – 28, 2026
- Operating Hours: Wednesday – Thursday – Friday 18:00- 21:00 & Saturday 11:00 – 15:00
- Venue: ETCH INK Art Space, 16 Argyroupoleos, Lycabettus, P.C. 114 71, Athens
