Aspassio Haronitaki was born in 1972 in Greece. Being in Paris in 1989, he studied at the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Beaux-arts and graduated in 1994 with “felicitations du jury” from the studio of Christian Boltanski & Annete Messager. In 1994 he studied for being Stage Director at Cal Art Institute Los Angeles/California, but was forced to return to Paris after a year. In 1999, Jean Hubert Martin, ex-director of the Museum of Modern Art Centre Pompidou (MNAM), proposes to Haronitaki to participate in the Biennale of Lyon. From that moment, he began a swift course in international art exhibitions of the major museums and galleries, such as: MART TRENTO-ROVERETO, Italy; PALAZZO FORTI, Italy; ZACHETA National Gallery of Art, Warszawa; Le Garage, Moscow; Culturgest Caixa Geral de depositos, Lisbon. He participated in the Biennales of Venice, Lyon, Moscow, Monténégro and others. Major brands selected Aspassio’s work for their communication. In 2003, Haronitaki inspired the “ABSOLUT HARONITAKI“ for ABSOLUT Vodka, an advertising campaign that held for years in the news.
CNN came up with a 8 min. film about Haronitaki’s work; moreover, he was portrayed on the back cover in TIME Magazine (international edition). The same year he exhibited at the Venice Biennale with the most important living artist, Louise Bourgeois. Haronitaki created the portrait of Louise Bourgeois representing her as a tiger. This picture was immediately “cult”. The Russian TEKNIKART Art Magazine hosted it as cover, selling 600.000 copies. The photograph of 115 ×130 cm sold two copies to Augstein (Spiegel Group) and the Barry Friedman Collection, NYC — one copy was gifted by Haronitaki to his friend Louise Bourgeois, now located at her home in Chelsea, New York. In 2010, Haronitaki became the Ambassador at Large of the number one selling world champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, organizing a unique show at Palais de Tokyo in Paris with 800 VIP guests.
In 2012, Haronitaki received the anointing of the Knight of Champagne between Prince Albert de Monaco, Ornella Muti, Patrick Bruel, Jean Claude Brialy, Lie Nothomb and others. In 2010, on the occasion of his participation in the Moscow Biennale in GARAGE, he was the main character of the 52 min. documentary (production of M6 France & Russia Art TV channel) called “Oligarchs, Art & Dollars”, which has been played many times in French and Russian television and recently in French LCP / Public Senat (28 April 2015).
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2016
Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Denis Zacharopoulos, Thessaloniki, GREECE
2010
”BRAIN STUFF”, curated by Mattijs Visser, Düsseldorf Quadriennale, Beck & Eggeling, Düsseldorf, GERMANY
2009
“Effervescence”, Palais de Tokyo, Artiste de l’année 2009, Nicolas Feuillatte (champagne), Paris, FRANCE
2003
“ABSOLUT HARONITAKI.”, ATHINAÎS Muséum, Athens, GREECE
2003
“Pitti Imagine”, Museo Antropologico, Hosted by Nose/Fornarina, Florence, ITALY
2003
AFAA (Association Française d’Action Artistique), Paris, FRANCE
2003
Lola Nikolaou Gallery, Thessaloniki, GREECE
2000
Marella Arte Contemporanea, Milan, ITALY
2000
“PHOTOSYNGIRIA 95”, Thessaloniki, GREECE
2000
Maya Tsoclis Gallery, Athens, GREECE
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2021
HAINAN BIENNALE, “The Tides of the Century”, organized by China International Exhibition Agency (CIEA) and Ocean Flower Island Museum, Museum No. 6, Hainan, CHINA
2016
“On the Origin of Art”, curated by Olivier Varenne, MONA (Museum of Old and New Art), Australia
2013
“ITHACA RETURNED”
2010
“INDIVIDU ANIMAL”, Beck & Eggeling, Düsseldorf, GERMANY
2009
MOSCOW BIENNALE 2009, curated by Jean Hubert Martin, co-curated by Mattijs Visser & Olivier Varenne, Le Garage, Moscow, RUSSIA
2004
“Beauty and the Beasts”, curated by Lea Vergine and Giorgio Verzotti, MART Museum, Trento-Rovereto, ITALY
2004
“ORIZZONTI APERTI”, da Felice Casorati a Vanessa Beecroft, Palazzo Forti, Verona, ITALY
2004
“AC: Anatomically Correct”, curated by Kóan Jeff Baysa, 473 Broadway Gallery, NEW YORK
2003
“ABSOLUT EDIPUS”, with Louise Bourgeois, Venice Biennale 2003, Zenobio Palace, Venice, ITALY
2003
“The Image of the Woman in the Third Millennium”, curated by Massimo Guastella, Brindisi, ITALY
2003
Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Cetinie, , curated by Katerina Koskina, Monténégro
2003
“POISONS”, Technopolis Museum, Athens municipality, GREECE
2001
“CULTURGEST”, curated by Antonio Pinto Ribeiro, Caixa Geral de Depositos, Lisbon, PORTUGAL
2001
“DESIGN 21”, curated by Maurizio Galante, concept and realization of FOSP, NEW YORK
2001
“La Metamorphosis del Corpo”, Marella Arte Contemporanea, Milan, ITALY
2001
“ABSOLUT SECRET”, Tajan Auctions, Paris, FRANCE
2000
Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, curated by Jean Hubert Martin, Thierry Raspail and Thierry Prat, Lyon, FRANCE
2000
“Four Rooms”, curated by Katerina Koskina, Kappatos Gallery, Athens, GREECE
1999
“ZACHETA”, curated by Anda Rotenberg and Katerina Koskina, National Gallery of Art, Warszawa, POLAND
EDITIONS:
“On The Origin of Art”
Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art: “Against Exclusion”
Lisboa: Culturgest, 2001
“Mediterraneo: Um Novo Muro? / The Mediterranean: A New Wall?”
ASPASSIO HARONITAKI: “Humanoides”, 2000
ASPASSIO HARONITAKI: “Brain Stuff”
5th Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Lyon: “Partage d’Exotismes”
ABSOLUT Generations
COLLECTIONS:
Museo Forti, Permanent Collection, Verona, ITALY
THE ABSOLUT COLLECTION, Collection ABSOLUT Vodka
Museum of Spirits , Stockholm, SWEDEN
National Gallery of Art, Permanent Collection, Warszawa, POLAND
Caixa Geral de Depositos, Permanent Collection, Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Collection Ion Vores, Museum Vores, Athens, GREECE
Barry Friedman Collection, NEW YORK
Collection Augstein (Der Spiegel magasine), München/GERMANY
The Golinelli Collection, Fondazione Marino Golinelli, Venice, ITALY
Beltsios Collection, Trikala, GREECE
Fornarina & Nose Group, Milano, ITALY