It is with profound sadness that we bid farewell to the President of AICA Hellas, Professor Emeritus at the School of Fine Arts of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and art historian, Emmanouil Mavrommatis, who has passed away.
He served the Greek Section of the International Association of Art Critics with consistency and dedication to its principles, and his multifaceted work constitutes a significant legacy for the Association.
AICA International joins the members of the Board of AICA Hellas in mourning his loss and extending heartfelt sympathy.
Emmanuel Mavrommatis (Athens, 6 February 1935 – Thessaloniki, 20 March 2026) was a distinguished Greek art historian, theorist, and art critic. He pursued studies in Sociology, Archaeology, and Art History at the Sorbonne and Paris–Sorbonne University IV, earning multiple degrees (Licence, Maîtrise, DEA). He further specialized in Museology at the École du Louvre and obtained his doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Athens.
From 1985 to 2002, he served as Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he was later named Emeritus Professor in the Department of Visual and Applied Arts. A central figure in Greek art criticism, he held the presidency of AICA Hellas (International Association of Art Critics – Greek Section) during the periods 2015–2018, 2019–2021, and again from 2024 until his passing.
Mavrommatis represented Greece internationally as National Commissioner at major biennials, including the Venice Biennale (1980, 1988), the Paris Biennale (1982), and the Alexandria Biennale (1998). He curated and organized numerous exhibitions of contemporary Greek and European art in Greece and France and contributed extensively to scholarly journals and collective publications.
Among his notable intellectual contributions is the conception of Theorimata, an institutional exhibition platform initiated in 2017 during his presidency of AICA Hellas. His published works include “Dimitris Galanis” (1983, doctoral dissertation), “Morphoplastic and Technical Explorations of Greek Printmaking, 1882–1982” (1983), and “Prolegomena to Analysis – Systems of Contemporary Art” (1993).
In recognition of his contribution to the arts, he was awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic in 1992.