" Our career is, to us, more than just a profession. It's a passion. Ever since we were young, we have been enamoured by Art ".
Christos & Vassilis

RARITY GALLERY is a contemporary Art gallery established by Vassilis Matsaidonis and Christos Nikolaou in 1994 in the center of Mykonos providing a space to discover emerging, mid-career and internationally renowned artists. 

We are inspired by the creativity of artists and focusing to contribute to the Art scene by exhibiting for the first time in Greece insightfully selected artworks from a diverse array of established living artists such as: 

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Julian Opie, the most influential Minimalist Pop-Artist of the New British Sculpture movement, whose work has been internationally exhibited at major museums, public collections and institutions. Sir Christopher Mark Le Brun President of the Royal Academy of Arts from the time of his election in 2011 until December 2019. Le Brun’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Tate Gallery, the British Museum, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 

Mel Ramos, a leading figure and the co-founder of the American Pop-Art movement in the ‘60s, along with Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Tom Wesselmann, Claes Oldenburg and James Rosenquist. 

Hunt Slonem, who acquires a vast set of technical skills, becomes distinctive to the viewer the longer he stands before the work. His paintings are layered with thick brushstrokes of vivid colour, often cut into a cross-hatched pattern that adds texture to the overall surface of the painting. Over fifty museums internationally include Hunt Slonem's paintings in their collections. 

Muntean & Rosenblum, is a collaborative artist duo worldwide renowned for using methods of sampling and resampling of subjects from art history and present-day popular culture. 

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In a different pictorial realm, exist the prominent hyper-photorealists; Yigal Ozeri, an Israeli artist known for large-scale cinematic portraits of young women in landscapes. Ben Schonzeit’s vitality in his work is in the simplicity of execution and efficiency of means. Raphaella Spence, who is worldwide established for her expressive colourisation, cityscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings. Simon Hennessey creates a harmonious balance to produce something that’s aesthetical and questions the boundaries of realism and where abstraction begins.​

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Joana Vasconcelos employs elements of Portuguese popular culture in her large-scale installations. In 2012, Vasconcelos showed her work at the major annual contemporary art exhibition in the Palace of Versailles. 

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George Cohen - Pusenkoff, a Postmodernist Russian painter and installation artist who incorporates modern art, cultural history and digital - pixel imagery in his paintings. 

Antonio Marra, an Op and Kinetic artist whose repetition of formal elements, depersonalisation of the work and the revelation of the relativity of the vision creates fascinating visual experiences.

The forceful execution of Santiago Ydanez’s paintings with his dynamic brushstrokes compose a work full of truth and passion between expressionism and romanticism. Jean-Pierre Séguin’s projects which obtain both a figurative and an abstract perception of the portrait on the same surface.

Massimo Giannoni’s interiors of bookshops, libraries and stock exchanges are defined by the artist’s particular and individual pictorial style, which on first close impression become almost impossible to read, but as the observer distances from the artwork, the image becomes clear and defined. 

Jens Lorenzen, influenced by contemporary history, sociological phenomena and politics, with pop culture references. 

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Set within the impressive backdrop of an early 20th century Mykonian manor house, the 200m2 gallery has hosted over 80 exhibitions and curated group shows from contemporary artists, who have caused us to reconsider the very definitions of what art can look like and what it can achieve.

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Its thoughtful programming is focused on deep and insightful relationships with artists, offering collectors the exciting experience of the full spectrum of the Contemporary Art scene and its different styles. 

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Formed over more than twenty five years, Rarity Gallery’s reputation for quality and integrity derives from striving to exceed the expectations of a demanding and informed clientele. In addition to freestanding projects - exhibitions, Rarity Gallery contributes to international architectural projects for private and corporate collections in collaboration with distinguished architects. "Rarity Summer Contemporary Group Exhibition” provides a general exploration of the human existence and emotions in the daily reality of life, as a wide range of the participants' artists feels and expresses using different kinds of style, technique and media. 

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The group show is a collection of stories and ideas that gives a living image of how a broad lineup of artists sees life in a different way, awakening every viewer's sensations and giving them the message that Art shows the alternative possibilities of life, focusing on enriching outstanding art collections. Each artist’s presentation in the show keeps its individuality in a minimalistic elegant way of display. 

Next to each artist’s work there is an informative sign with his biographical note and his statement and concept of the exhibited artwork. 

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The gallery is divided into six exhibition halls each following a distinct thematic narrative, whilst remaining in constant visual communication with each other. The architectural concept is that a gallery is a bunch of ideas, a kind of neutral place where the artist’s ideas are leading in harmony with the curator's aesthetics. An outdoor courtyard, which is the gallery’s garnish on the main road and an interior patio offer the possibility for exhibiting sculptures and installations outdoors.

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RARITY GALLERY has mounted exhibitions by the sculptors: 

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Hanneke Beaumont, whose prominent reputation exceeds expectation, has her works exhibited worldwide in major museums, public and corporate collections. 

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Sean Henry, for whom the art historian Tom Flynn has noted “through vigorously expressive modeling Henry imbues his figures with a powerful psychological presence, the theme of life and death a constant subtext”. His work includes private and public installations in many locations across Europe, like the National Portrait Gallery in London and USA. 

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Marc Sijan creates incredibly hyperrealistic sculptures depicting ordinary people and capturing a life force in full swing. 

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Daniel Firman is inspired by artistic practices such as performance, dance and installation and thus his sculptures have the particularity to be a condensed process rather than motionless representations. Georg Scheele whose abstract form of Carrara marble sculptures all form intertwined paths and loops. Fotis, the distinguished Greek sculptor, who emphasizes on a synthetic process from forms of the human body, trees and elements of Technology represents a contemporary anthropocentric Art. 

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RARITY GALLERY’s collection accompanies the main artistic movements of our times allowing different and state-of-the art readings of contemporary art. 

The video sculptures by Marck are a consequence of his extensive examination with films, videos and multimedia based digital art projects. 

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Massimo Vitali, the worldwide distinguished Italian photographer best known for his large-scale color images of beaches and mass leisure events. Vitali’s photographs are held in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, the Fond National Art Contemporain in Paris, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris, the Fondation Cartier in Paris and the Museo Luigi Pecci in Prato, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, among other institutions. 

Massimo Listri’s photography of majestic portraits of interiors is known for its technical perfection and its strictly conceptual approach. On the contrary, Jeffrey Milstein’s focal point for capturing hyper realistic architecturally symmetrical photographs is color and design as he achieves maximum alignment, clarity and precision in his images. 

Hugh Arnold’s "Underwater World of Experiences” showcases the allure and stillness of the sea. Arnold explores subliminal stages of development from womb to womanhood. Stripped of all artifice. There is a peace and harmony in the reminder that man is only a small part of a larger force; a force that surpasses our being. Davide Bramante’s analogue technique of multiple exposures during shooting, results in multiple shots on the same frame.  Stephane Dessaint’s aerial photographs capture intimate and open-ended imagery of beaches across the world. Julian Lennon intends to inspire viewers to learn about unique indigenous cultures, whilst raising awareness of their plights through a wide range of photography. 

Russell Young is best known for his large silkscreen paintings using imagery drawn from recent history and popular culture. 

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Not just his models, but also Jeff Robb’s 3D lenticular holograms can be described as “contemplative” and “concerned”. 

Ilse Haider’s mixed media photographic op-kinetic works are distinguished for the use of three-dimensional surfaces.

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RARITY GALLERY is particularly keen on finding young artists and giving them the needed push.
The Gallery's objective is to sustain the market for talented emerging artists, who have pursued high quality art studies at internationally recognised universities, such as: 

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Francesca Pasquali, Phil Akashi, Kevin Barrett, Nikos Floros, La Fratrie, Katharina Gierlach, Frances Goodman, Adam Handler, Chris Klein, Ismael Lagares, Jeppe Lauge, Gavin Lynch, Dani Marti, Deana Nastic, Vanessa Prager, Joan Salo, Woody Shepherd, Javier Vazquez, Jan de Vliegher, Natalie Westbrook. 

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The gallery offers the chance to collectors to be acquainted for the first time with the work of these artists, who are pushing Art forward in bold new directions. 

The choice of the artworks is based on strict criteria: the originality of the work, the timeless artistic value, the elevated aesthetic quality as well as the curators’ belief in the artists’ future evolutionary trajectory. 

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RARITY GALLERY provides curatorial expertise, acting as a consultant and cooperating with prominent art historians, curators and writers, while at the same time advising private and corporate collections and assisting collectors to build their collections internationally. 

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After almost thirty years in collecting and showing Contemporary Art, Vassilis & Christos , Rarity Gallery’s curators, like to take risks in the gallery with younger artists. 

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Their aesthetic judgments and their ability to nurture collectors of high demand are matched by a very astute business sense regarding selection of artworks from international artists, always thinking ahead and considering the long term view. 

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The 2022 Rarity Gallery Group Show shifts towards an innovative and contemporary approach by showcasing a wide variety of abstract artists as a means to elevate modernist artistic movements whilst adapting to the ever changing and evolving alternative possibilities of art.

 

Therefore , the 2022 Group Show intends to play with forms, references, and the visual sensations that the chosen works evoke. 

The white walls neutrality and the polished grey concrete floors of the Rarity Gallery bind the artist and the elite spectator together. 

One immediately understands the freedom of interpretation given to those who are intent on looking at this series of works by the artists: 

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Steven Cox’s compositions are created through a highly refined combination of unique transferal painting techniques. 

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Rainer Gross’s diptychs produce a negative twin of the original painting. Gross focuses on a more meditative, abstract aesthetic. 

 

On the contrary, Jeffrey Milstein’s focal point for capturing hyper realistic architecturally symmetrical photographs is color and design as he achieves maximum alignment, clarity and precision in his images.

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Maurizio Donzelli’s consideration of visual phenomena such as color, images, and art itself affect perception and understanding of reality. 

 

Soren Martinsen creates landscape paintings that challenge notions of nature and the “natural” and its potential to deliver a true and full human experience. 

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Jered Sprecher paintings personify the tension of vastly expanding technology and the fragile complexity of the world. 

 

Carlos Albert works mainly with wrought iron and weathering steel. He emphasises in his work, skill and handling of these materials, making "three-dimensional" pieces.

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Following the above, the 2022 Rarity Gallery Group Show incorporates for the first time an array of international artists such as; 

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Adonis Donef, Davide Bramante, Gianluca Di Pasquali, Geoff Uglow, Jose Cobo, Keegan Mchargue, Martin Herbst, Michael Staniak, Lars Christensen.