"Chryssothemis" was founded by Zoe Psarrou in 1979 in Halandri. It was the first gallery whose location was deliberately chosen outside central Athens; the local authority and the people of Halandri embraced the venture, and the gallery became a link between Halandri and contemporary artistic creation.
From the outset the gallery had close ties to the intellectual world; indeed, its very name was an idea of the poet Yannis Ritsos. This connection is reflected in several exhibitions on the theme of poetry (2005: Tribute to Nikos Kavvadias; 2008: Exhibition dedicated to poets; 2010: Five Visual Artists Paint Poetry).
In the early years, many established artists stood by the new gallery — among them, G. Sikeliotis, G. Vakirtzis, K. Tsara and others. Over time “Chryssothemis” acquired more associates, mainly painters but also sculptors, printmakers and mosaic artists. Regular exhibitors include Julia Andreiadou, Yannis Antonopoulos, Dionysis Gerolymatos, Pericles Goulakos, Panayotis Gravvalos, Petros Zoumboulakis, Markos Kambanis, Yorgos Mavroidis, Anna Palieraki, Costas Papatriantafyllopoulos, Fotis Sarris and Takis Sideris, and the gallery has hosted solo exhibitions by Michalis Tombros, Dimitris Geros, Kyriakos Mortarakos, Yannis Michailidis and others. It has also been the springboard for the career of many younger artists who had their first exhibitions there.
Since January 2010 the galley is run by Leda Panayotopoulou. True to its founding principles, “Chryssothemis” continues to represent accomplished as well as emerging artists.