The new season of THE ERA OF IMAGES focuses once again on sociopolitical issues, prominent figures in artistic creation, origin stories from the Greek diaspora, the formation of collections, and works and artists who encourage and are inspired by the concept of coexistence. Highlights of the new season include, among others, South African artist of Greek descent Penny Siopis with her retrospective at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), the DEMOCRACY exhibition at the National Gallery, MOMus in Thessaloniki and the history of its collections, NEON’s Space of Togetherness exhibition at the School of Irene Papas, and the 50th Venice Biennale—a staple and pinnacle of the show since 2003.

Katerina Zacharopoulou meets the Belgian artist Jan Fabre on the occasion of his exhibition in Athens at Crux Gallery, titled "I Am Blood." The exhibition was curated by Dr. Katerina Koskina, an art historian and curator. The Era of Images has previously met the artist at key moments in his career in Venice, the Louvre, Antwerp, and Athens. Thus, this discussion takes the form of a journey through his body of work, culminating this time in pieces created using the mosaic technique, highlighting Fabre’s interest in and respect for the techniques of past eras.
The section presented in Athens, under the title "I Am Blood" from the MOSAiCS series (2023), was crafted with 24-carat gold tiles and enamel. Jan Fabre is renowned for his multifaceted Renaissance-like approach to art, his study of its history, and its connection to science and traditional techniques. The wall-mounted mosaics, as well as drawings from the Je suis sang (2005) series also featured in the exhibition, represent the artistic continuation of the eponymous performance. For this, commissioned by the 55th Festival d'Avignon in 2001, Fabre composed a medieval-style poetic text, which he subsequently directed and staged as a performative spectacle.
Jan Fabre references blood as a fundamental component of human existence, as evident in his HB pencil and blood drawings on paper.