Shapes and Scenes | a demonstration by vase-painter Thanassis Katsaras
Thursday, November 15 and Saturday, November 17
10:00am – 12:00pm (EST)
House A at the Center for Hellenic Studies
Renowned vase-painter Thanassis Katsaras will demonstrate the step-by-step process of decorating Greek vases from his studio in Eleusis via a live video link. He will provide a brief survey of Greek vase-painting and show how ancient potters painted different types of scenes and worked on different surfaces.
Following the demonstration, Thanassis Katsaras will discuss the techniques of ancient potters with current CHS fellows, Professors Eleni Hasaki and Diane Harris Cline.
About the Artist
Thanassis Katsaras lives and work in Eleusis, near Athens, Greece. He was born to a family whose work in ceramics can be traced back to the early 20th century in Asia Minor. He studied Sociology and Physical Education in Athens, but later decided to pursue pottery and vase-painting. He founded the Amasis-Ariadne Gallery and Ceramic Studio. His work is also exhibited internationally and his replicas of Greek vases feature in prominent museums in Greece and abroad. In 2016, he was invited to the Embassy of Greece in Washington DC for a live demonstration of painting techniques in conjunction with the exhibition Power and Pathos at the National Gallery of Art. He decorates a variety of shapes with a large repertoire of ancient themes. His traditional techniques bring us closer to understanding the vase painters of ancient Greece.
About the Panel Organizers
Eleni Hasaki is an Associate Professor at the School of Anthropology and Department of Religious Studies and Classics at the University of Arizona. Diane Harris Cline is an Associate Professor of History at George Washington University. During their CHS collaborative fellowship, Hasaki and Cline are employing social network analysis techniques to better understand the connected world of potters and painters in Archaic and Classical Athens (6th-5th centuries B.C.).