Gallery 3 was founded in 1980 by Yulia Gazetopoulou, Maria Lampaki, Mickey Messolora and Ileana Tounta. Ileana Tounta left the gallery in 1984 and Mickey Messolora resigned in 1987. In 1988, Ilona Payida joins the company, while the gallery is managed by Yulia Gazetopoulou, Maria Lambakis and Ilona Payida. Ilona Payida run the gallery on her own until the end of 2007, when Gallery 3 completed a journey of 27 years in the greek art scene (Y. Gazetopoulou and M. Lampaki had already left the company since 1997 and 2002 respectively).
The gallery’s main purpose of operation was to present the most significant trends in modern and contemporary art, and to promote established artists through fresh perspectives. In this light, it showcased works of well-known greek visual artists, such as Theofilos, Parthenis, Bouzianis, Chalepas, but it also presented happenings, installations, video art, and visual poetry, as well as painting, sculpture and printmaking works by younger artists.
Gallery 3 also organized exhibitions of foreign artists in Greece (Arman, A.R. Penck, Carlos Munoz), it cooperated with Fondation Danäe in Pouilly, France (Daphne Costopoulou, Nikos Alexiou) and participated annually in Art Athina.
Gallery 3’s main aim was to reveal and draw attention to artworks known or less known, highlighting their timeless parallelisms and juxtapositions and to support young artists, by promoting works that shape contemporary art through the experimentations and concerns of their creators.