Prominent private collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos has announced the donation of a large part of his collection of important works of contemporary art, which consists of more than 500 pieces, to four museums located in in Greece, Britain and the USA.
The donation by Daskalopoulos, who is the custodian of the D. Daskalopoulos Collection and the founder of the NEON organization, will also create a pioneering network of synergies between these organizations.
The donation consists of more than 350 works by 142 Greek and international artists.
Many of these works were created by some of the most important contemporary artists of the past few decades: Marina Abramović, Matthew Barney, Isaac Julien, Jannis Kounellis, Sarah Lucas, Paul McCarthy, Steve McQueen, Paul Thek. The collection has toured to some of the world’s top institutions, including the Whitechapel Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.
Of these works, 140 works are intended for the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Αthens (EMST), about 100 will go to the Guggenheim in NYC and Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, while 110 will go to the Tate in London.
“I never felt [like] an owner of artworks. They belong to the creators forever. An artwork is only meaningful if it is being seen, if it interacts with the viewer and creates emotions,” the jovial Greek financier and mega-collector told Artnet News over a Zoom call.
Daskalopoulos started collecting works of contemporary art in 1994, his collection counts over 500 works of 220 artists.
pictures: Natalia Tsoukala (NEON) via cnngreece
