The relationship of Markos Kampanis with the Community of Mount Athos began in 1990. A first trip, which was to be followed by many others till today, was enough to bind him emotionally and artistically with the place and the people. The current exhibition at the Byzantine and Christian Museum presents more than one hundred works through five thematic sections, extensive samples of the twenty year activity of Markos Kampanis associated with Mount Athos. These sections relate to the painting of the church of Virgin Portaïtissa in Kornofolia Evros – metochion of the Iberon Monastery, the painting of the ceilings of the Simonopetra monastery, the illustration of publications on the Mount Athos, the revival of the engraving workshop in Karyes and finally the production of paintings and engravings depicting the nature and the monuments of Mount Athos.

The artist approaches the depiction of the monasteries and the nature through various perspectives revealing an anxious soul and an equally restless eye that seeks for myriad different ways to express the atmosphere, the religiosity, the ascetsism, the natural and cultural richness and many other aspects, either through sharp contrasts of black and white in engravings or through the rich variations of colours in painting. It should be noted that Markos Kampanis is one of the innovators of our ecclesiastical painting; based firmly on the tradition, he doesn't imitate it but he creates a personal painting style.