NEW YORK – An artistic event was held at the residence of the Consul General of Greece in New York on May 7 to honor art collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos on the occasion of the Guggenheim Museum event on May 8. Daskalopoulos was being honored for his significant donation, and it is worth noting that a large selection of important works of contemporary art from the D. Daskalopoulos Collection have been donated to four museums in three countries on two continents, creating an innovative network of synergies.

During his remarks, Consul General of Greece Dinos Konstantinou expressed his deep gratitude to the collector, calling him a brilliant businessman and visionary who decided to donate a large part of his modern art collection to public, world-class institutions around the world. With the donation of his private collection, 350 works by 142 international artists will be given to several leading global institutions. Specifically, 100 works will be jointly given to the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, 110 to the Tate Modern in London, and 140 to the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens.

Daskalopoulos’ fascinating collection includes works by renowned artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Marina Abramović, Helen Chadwick, Sarah Lucas, Matthew Barney, Vlassis Caniaris, Stathis Logothetis, and Jannis Kounelis, among others.

Consul General Konstantinou also emphasized that Daskalopoulos’ sense of responsibility towards his art collection is remarkable, as he realizes that works of art have a life of their own, existing through the eyes of the beholder, independent of their owner. Art can only have meaning and influence when interacting with the public, as it is a human right and basic human need. Daskalopoulos brilliantly captures the idea that turning a private collection into a public exhibit allows his collection to live forever, to be constantly interpreted by the public, and thus to become a source of inspiration and reflection, creating unexpected connections between time and space.

In his remarks at the event, Daskalopoulos said that collecting works of art was not an act of thought and decision for him, but a natural result of a continuous process, as he was fascinated by art from a very early age. He personally enjoyed the journey into art, which became magical over time. “When you’re a collector, you’re not just a collector, you’re an art lover,” he noted.

Gradually, Daskalopoulos developed the belief that he is not really the owner of each work and that the work first belongs to the artist, but also that the creator belongs to the audience that engages with it. So this process over the years created the belief in Daskalopoulos that his collection would go to public institutions.

“These works of art need to be judged, preserved, and in constant dialogue with art, and no single collector or private institution can do that in the long term. Only in public museums does this happen,” he added.

Several Greek and Greek-American artists and creators, as well as representatives of important American museums and galleries, were present at the event.