WAG to unveil Olympus exhibit with antiquities fit for a god

The Winnipeg Art Gallery opens the doors to Olympus: The Greco-Roman Collections of Berlin exhibit on Sunday, taking crowds back more than 2,000 years to the height of the Greco-Roman world. 

"It is, without exception, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Borys says. 

Spanning 10 centuries of of history

The hall where this exhibit is featured has been transformed into a 360-degree experience, enveloping visitors into a colosseum-like gallery for the displayed sculptures, on loan from the National Museums in Berlin. 

"It's perfect. We call it the dodecatheon," Borys explains, "Which is the rotunda for the Olympian gods, well there's 12 of them but there is 13 in this space."

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The exhibit contains 160 pieces that span nearly 10 centuries of history. All of the godly favourites including Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite will be making appearances.  

"Transformation for a show like this is critical," Borys says."How do you give any sense of context, space, decor for objects that are 2,000 years old? So we have transformed physically the spaces, only to provide a backdrop, kind of a set, a theatre for the objects. And when the objects come in, I think you'll see they come to life in these very different spaces."  

• Read more about the exhibit on the WAG's website

Borys says the first thing visitors will see is a fifth century BC Greek vase which he calls an "exquisite object." Other notable objects include a colossal stone foot, which Borys said would have come from a goddess sculpture that would have stood nine metres high. The body of the sculpture would have been made from wood, so the only surviving pieces are the feet, he says. 

"It gives you an idea of scale in the Greco-Roman period," he says. 

We realize there's a historical side to this art but it's very much a part of our life today...- Stephen Borys, Director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery

Borys says that people continue to be interested in this part of history because it lay the foundations for things like law, theatre, art, sport, medicine, culture and architecture.

"I mean things came before and after but if you think of those crucial disciplines, ideas, fundamentals of a cultural life today, a lot of them were based in Greece and Rome," Borys says.

"We realize there's a historical side to this art but it's very much a part of our life today, our culture today."

'Call it diplomacy'

It is difficult to organize exhibits such as this one, Borys says. He says you can "call it diplomacy" because it take a delicate combination of the right time, right place and right people to make it happen; not to mention a lot of planning.

"It's the first time Berlin has lent these works to North America, Quebec City and Winnipeg. So it's a coup," Borys says.

That being said, Borys thinks art is a critical medium of being able to communicate the history from this ancient period. 

"A visitor comes in here, not only are they looking at incredible works of art," he says, "They're getting a sense of the role of the gods and goddesses in the Greek and Roman period."