Greek shipowner Irene Panagopoulos has exhibited part of her art collection in London, marking the first time her works have been shown abroad.
Panagopoulos, the president of shipping firm Magna Marine Inc. and daughter of the late shipping magnate Pericles Panagopoulos, was born in the British capital.
The exhibition, titled Revisiting: Fernweh, explores themes of nostalgia for unknown places and is being staged in partnership with the Hellenic Centre in London.
Curated by Katerina Chatzi, the display brings together 17 artworks by 15 international artists, with most of the pieces on view in the United Kingdom for the first time.
Artworks and international artists
The show includes works by French-Russian modernist Marc Chagall, French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, Greek artist Vlassis Caniaris, and French-Moroccan contemporary artist Bouchra Khalili.
Caniaris was a central figure in Greek post-war art, known for installations examining the social realities of migration and guest workers across Europe.
Saint Phalle gained global prominence in the twentieth century for her monumental, colourful sculptures, while Chagall is celebrated for pioneering dreamlike, poetic modernist painting.
Khalili, an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist, produces video installations and mapping projects that examine geographic borders, movement, and identity.
The German term Fernweh, which features in the exhibition title, translates literally as farsickness or an ache to travel to distant and unfamiliar destinations.
Cultural partnership and collection expansion
The project marks the first occasion that the Irene Panagopoulos Collection has mounted an exhibition outside Greece.
Organisers said the London presentation opens a new chapter for the collection, with aims to build international partnerships and extend its exhibition programme beyond Athens.
The Hellenic Centre, located in the Marylebone district of London, is a cultural charity founded to foster Greek and Cypriot arts, literature, and heritage in Britain.
Magna Marine and bulk shipping operations
While expanding her involvement in the art world, Panagopoulos continues to direct Athens-based shipping company Magna Marine Inc. as its president.
The firm was founded in 1989 by her father, Pericles Panagopoulos, and has accumulated more than 30 years of operating experience in the maritime sector.
Magna Marine focuses exclusively on the dry cargo market, having managed more than 27 vessels since its inception.
The company currently operates an active fleet of eight dry bulk carriers, transporting unpackaged raw commodities such as grain, coal, and minerals across international trade routes.
Her father Pericles, who died in 2019, was widely regarded as a pioneer of modern Greek shipping after building major passenger ferry networks and commercial bulk operations.
