Of course, they do!
With this blog, dear readers, I take the opportunity to underline the importance of galleries and museums and their reciprocal relationship with artworks.
Artworks are the true hosts in galleries and museums—beyond their official owners or the public and private institutions that manage them. They joyfully and eagerly await visitors to come and experience them. They almost speak to you, inviting you to come closer, to feel what they radiate in the space—their aura, and more. Gazing at a work of art, whether you are an aficionado or someone with little connection to art, it is impossible not to feel its soul, its aura, and what it wants to communicate as it resides in the space of a gallery or museum.
Reflecting on my early childhood, starting from the age of 4 or 5, I was fortunate enough to be taken by my parents, along with my two siblings, to various significant cultural spaces, both in Greece and abroad. I vividly recall the deep emotion I felt each time I approached a display case in archaeological museums—of which we have so many in Greece—or various exhibits in galleries abroad.
Even now, as an archaeologist and museologist, I feel the same emotions. Almost all the artworks seem to speak to you, especially if you free your mind from the clutter of daily life and the worries that preoccupy you.
It is undeniable that every artist imbues their work with their soul, mood, and enthusiasm for creation. When a piece ultimately leaves the hands of its creator and finds its place in a museum, gallery, or public or private collection, that aura is transferred to the space and remains there, waiting to be received by visitors or collectors.
The museum space itself—beyond its permanent collections—transforms with each temporary exhibition, becoming something new with every unique collection it presents to the public. Each collection speaks in its own way, through the soul of the artworks, to the visitor. Similarly, one experiences a different feeling from the atmosphere and aura of each gallery, depending on the works of the artists being exhibited at any given time.
Galleries and museums, therefore, play a vital role in cultural life, as they preserve artworks, whether temporarily or permanently, for posterity. Similarly, archives—something I have the pleasure of working with and documenting—capture the creativity and inspiration of artists. They will pass on to future generations of researchers not only the technical details, timelines, and reasons behind the creation of these works but also the very aura they exuded during their time in galleries, museums, or collections.

Taking pictures of Babs Haenen's Putnam Camp series at her exhibition 'Crossing Paths', Taste Contemporary Gallery, Geneva
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