Katerina Karoussos belongs to the fourth generation of an artistic family with a long-standing, active dedication to Orthodox monumental art. She is the first woman in this extensive family lineage, particularly in the monumental iconography of the interior architecture of Orthodox churches in Greece. The history of the Karousos family can be read as an ongoing, successive encounter between Orthodox pictorial tradition and the prevailing artistic and aesthetic currents of their respective eras.

As early as the mid-18th century, Efstathios Karoussos¹, during his artistic activity in present-day Italy (Naples, Trieste, Venice), had incorporated Baroque elements into the Orthodox painting tradition. Dionysios Karoussos engaged in dialogue with the Nazarene movement². Ιannis Karoussos, father of Katerina, approached modernism in his visual art³. Consequently, examining their trajectory, we observe that it does not represent a linear transmission of an immutable visual idiom but rather an ongoing process of combining and creating a dialogue between the Orthodox tradition and the plastic achievements of each era, leading to a renewal of the 'script' and a reinterpretation of this art through a contemporary perspective and perception.

 Each generation of the Karousos family seems to affirm that tradition remains alive precisely because of its ability to engage in dialogue with the present, regarded as an integral part of art without relinquishing its liturgical character. Orthodox monumental art—often enveloping the entire surface of church interior walls and vaults—is therefore defined by them not as a closed, immutable system of forms, but as a living language capable of traversing time, converging with diverse aesthetics, and incorporating new techniques and conceptions of religious iconography.

Within this familial succession, Katerina Karoussos marks the next step—one that could well be characterised as a watershed: she brings Orthodox monumental art into the 21st century not by repudiating tradition, but by exploring the possibilities afforded by contemporary digital media. Her visual practice unfolds along the threshold between image, architecture, and space. Specifically, she investigates how Christian Orthodox fresco painting can be emancipated from the specific site and material conditions that traditionally define it, employing the tools of today without compromising its spiritual and ethical essence.

Her position in this lineage is especially significant. While Efstathios, Dionysos, and Iannis Karousos responded to the artistic movements of their eras through tools and techniques that had remained constant for centuries, Katerina is called upon to confront an even more radical transformation: a contemporary landscape where the image is no longer confined to a two-dimensional surface or to conventional styles and media.

Digital technology, augmented reality, and new forms of spatial and interactive experience radically alter the landscape and the ways in which an image is produced, perceived, and extended into space. It is at this juncture that family tradition converges with, yet simultaneously diverges from, Karousou’s personal visual exploration.

The gesture of detachment is, therefore, far more than a mere shift in presentation. It constitutes a process of deconstructing the image itself into its constituent elements. Form, line, colour, light, surface, and void acquire a newfound autonomy, as they can now unfold beyond the boundaries of their original architectural context. The image is no longer a static object upon a wall but an open structure capable of moving, transforming, and forging new relationships with both space and the viewer. The materiality of the works, though fluid and visually permeable, contributes decisively to this dialogue. Rather than imposing a sharp boundary between image and space, it evokes the sensation of a continuous transition.

The gaze does not "collide" and halt upon the two-dimensional surface; rather, it appears to permeate it. The image thus becomes less compact and more of a field—a Kampos (background field), according to the terminology of Orthodox iconographic tradition—and consequently less of an object and more of a process.

The transition from the two-dimensional surface to spatial expansion inevitably gives rise to a different relationship with the viewer. Where traditional iconography primarily orchestrates a visual encounter, Karoussos’s works activate an expansive, multisensory experience. 

Digital technology, augmented reality, and new forms of spatial and interactive experience radically alter the landscape and how an image is produced, perceived, and extended into space. It is at this juncture that family tradition converges with, yet simultaneously diverges from, Karousou’s personal visual exploration.

The gesture of detachment is, therefore, far more than a mere shift in presentation. It constitutes a process of deconstructing the image itself into its constituent elements. Form, line, colour, light, surface, and void acquire a newfound autonomy, as they can now unfold beyond the boundaries of their original architectural context. The image is no longer a static object upon a wall but an open structure capable of moving, transforming, and forging new relationships with both space and the viewer. The materiality of the works, though fluid and visually permeable, contributes decisively to this dialogue. Rather than imposing a sharp boundary between image and space, it evokes the sensation of a continuous transition.

The gaze does not "collide" and halt upon the two-dimensional surface; rather, it appears to permeate it. The image thus becomes less compact and more of a field—a Kampos (background field), according to the terminology of Orthodox iconographic tradition—and consequently less of an object and more of a process.

The transition from the two-dimensional surface to spatial expansion inevitably gives rise to a different relationship with the viewer. Where traditional iconography primarily orchestrates a visual encounter, Karoussos’s works activate an expansive, multisensory experience.

Touch, sound, movement, spatial perception, and immersive experience can function complementarily to sight, transforming the work from an ob-ject of visual contemplation into an open environment of experience.

Augmented reality takes on a distinct significance within this context. It does not merely serve as an added technological layer atop the image but as a medium that allows the image to gain a second, immaterial dimension. The physical and the digital coexist, while the sacred scene can continue to exist beyond the boundaries of the physical surface. The image may be at times material and at others immaterial, at times fixed and at others mutable—remaining perpetually in a state of becoming.

In the installation Tactile Commons, to be presented this coming October at the Benizelos Mansion in Plaka, this becomes unmistakably clear. This is because, while one might expect the image to transition from a two-dimensional surface into space, an inverse trajectory is pursued instead. Here, accommodating the needs of individuals with low or no vision, the pixels of the digital photographic image regain their materiality, presented as a tactile relief of tesserae and voids. Thus, endowed with a tangible "body", they open up for contemplation as a tactile experience.

Whichever path she pursues, Katerina Karoussos does not treat tradition as a static past to be merely conserved. She approaches it as an active, dynamic legacy that acquires meaning through its capacity to transform. A defining role in this continuous process of evolution is played by the Karoussos Archives, which she established and continues to expand. Operating not as a static repository of documentation but as a vibrant hub for research, dialogue, and innovation, the Archives fosters the stewardship and valorisation of this multi-generational history and monumental heritage.

Through cutting-edge practices, it transforms archival material into a living experience, offering a body of work that is collective and deeply rooted, yet simultaneously evolving and interactive, open to research, and accessible to all.

The thread connecting these four generations lies not in the repetition of a predetermined technique or form, but precisely in the audacity of each generation within the same family to seek its own language and medium within its own world.

From Baroque to the Nazarenes, from Modernism to the digital and interactive imagery of the 21st century, the Orthodox monumental painting of the Karousos family narrates a history of continuous evolution. This gradual shift from generation to generation assumes a new dimension: the image reflects its time, its broader context, its role, and its means of realization. The transmission of the same spiritual message is achieved through the tools, expressive idioms, and modes of spatial engagement afforded by each era of creation. In reality, it does not simply trace the path of its origins.

It has moved from the wall into space, from solid surface to fluid, permeable materiality, and from the physical realm into the digital. The legacy remains vital not merely because it changes, but because it can transform its medium, form, and reception while fiercely preserving its essential core.

The art of Katerina Karoussos emerges from the intersection of family history and artistic lineage with the contemporary era. She does not renounce the sacred character or the spiritual Word (Logos) of Orthodox art. Moving beyond the two-dimensional surface into space, or employing new technologies, does not signify a departure from conveying the sacred message. She does not abandon Orthodox tradition; rather, she expands its frontiers, equipping it with novel possibilities for reading and perception. Through this expansion, Orthodox monumental art endures—not as a static representation, but as a contemporary, experiential, and spiritual presence.

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[1] Hatzidakis, Manolis & Drakopoulou, Eugenia (1997). Greek painters after the fall (1450-1830), Volume B. Athens, Greece: Center for Modern Greek Studies E.I.E. σελίδες 71–72.

[2] The Nazarene movement was a group of young German Romantic painters in the early 19th century.

[3] Zias, N. (1988, November). Ιannis Karousos: Tradition and Quests (pp. 2–3) [Exhibition catalogue]. Municipality of Patras.

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Katerina Koskina,

Art Historian, Ph.D. – Museologist – Exhibition Curator

September 2026

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Bigliography

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telescope. Oxford University Press.

Michaud, P.-A. (2007). Aby Warburg and the image in motion (S. Hawkes, Trans.). Zone Books.

Panofsky, E. (1991). Perspective as symbolic form (C. S. Wood, Trans.). Zone Books.

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