Exhibition “Ancient Coins in the Alpha Bank Collection. Contemporary Inspiration for the Sculpture of Giorgos Lappas”

A dialogue between coins and art

The exhibition brings together the works of contemporary artist Giorgos Lappas with the ancient coins that inspired him.

It showcases 46 coins and 9 sculptures, representing known symbols and images of ancient Greek coin iconography.

All the exhibits, both coins and sculptures, come from the Alpha Bank Collections. The coins are part of the Alpha Bank Numismatic Collection, while the sculptures were donated to the Alpha Bank Art Collection by the artist.

Ancient coins as a source of contemporary inspiration

Coinage was created by the ancient Greeks to satisfy the need for transactions. Over time, coins became the bearers of diverse messages and witnessed historical, political and religious changes and events.

These small objects, the coins, inspired sculptor Giorgos Lappas to express his own view of them.

The artist carried images from ancient Greek coins into wall-mounted and free-standing sculptures. His art plays with sizes, optics and time.

The artist

Giorgos Lappas was born in 1950 in Cairo, Egypt, and died in 2016 in Athens.

His first field of study was Clinical Psychology. He then studied Architecture in London and Sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts, under Giannis Pappas and Giorgos Nikolaidis.

He received scholarships from the Watson Foundation, the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the Cartier Foundation.

In 1992 he was appointed professor of Sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts.

He has held solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad and has taken part in several Biennale. In fact, he represented Greece in 1990 in Venice and in 1995 in the first Biennale in Gwangju, Korea.

Giorgos Lappas’ life and creations were marked by his countless travels. His works may be found in many significant private and public collections, in Greece and abroad.

The contributors

Artistic and architectural design: Stamatis Zannos.

Exhibition catalogue

The exhibition is accompanied by the same-titled publication Ancient Coins in the Alpha Bank Collection. Contemporary Inspiration for the Sculpture of Giorgos Lappas by Dr Dimitra Tsangari and Irene Orati. The publication captures the dialogue between the ancient coins and Giorgos Lappas’ sculptures.