Living with an Anonymous Painting During Athens Lockdown Reveals Art's Intimacy Beyond Institutions
Amid Athens' stringent lockdowns, an art critic found refuge in a borrowed apartment, where he was accompanied by an anonymous oil painting measuring 60cm square. This artwork mimics David Hockney's 1967 piece, A Bigger Splash, substituting the original pool splash with orange flames and black smoke. Over a span of six months, he viewed it from his fifth-floor balcony, observing local confrontations with law enforcement. Unfamiliar with the artist or the piece's background, he appreciated it without institutional biases. The painting's hues complemented the room's decor, amplifying its impact. In his reflections, the critic identified similarities between the painting's critique of Hockney's lifestyle and his own isolated situation. The artwork is identified as Alexander Massouras's 2008 A Bigger Splash.
Key facts
- The critic lived in a borrowed Athens apartment for six months during lockdowns
- A 60cm square oil on linen painting hung in the spare bedroom replicated David Hockney's A Bigger Splash composition
- The painting substitutes Hockney's pool splash with an explosion of orange flame and black smoke
- The critic observed the painting daily without knowing the artist or title initially
- The painting was later identified as Alexander Massouras's 2008 work A Bigger Splash
- The experience revealed how museums and galleries engineer critical consent through institutional frameworks
- Domestic settings allow art to be experienced without external validation of value
- The critic contrasts this intimate engagement with brief museum visits to works by Caravaggio and Eisenman
Entities
Artists
- David Hockney
- Alexander Massouras
- Richard Diebenkorn
- Caravaggio
- Eisenman
- Piet Mondrian
- Gayatri Spivak
- Jacques Derrida
Institutions
- Tate Modern
- Athens Polytechnic
- British government
- ArtReview
Locations
- Athens
- Greece
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York
- United States
- Barcelona
- Spain
- East London
- Atlantic Ocean
- Parthenon