By Niki-Maria Koskina
This summer, the city turns into an art playground. Major names, edgy newcomers and unexpected spaces bring energy, color and ideas to every corner. Whether you’re into magnetic sculptures, street legends, or thought-provoking installations, there’s something here waiting to surprise you.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Takis’ birth, the B&E Goulandris Foundation has organized “Takis 100”, a project spanning two exhibitions –one in Athens and one in Andros– shedding light on the artist’s personality and work. The Athens exhibition is exclusively dedicated to magnetism, while the one in Andros encompasses his entire career and all the great moments that defined it. Four works by the sculptor Takis can also be found at SNFCC: three magnetic panels and one Aeolian piece, featured in their own tribute to his centenary.
Meanwhile, the Agora of the foundation hosts three large sculptures by South African artist Simone Leigh –“Vessel”, “Bisi”, and “Herm”– which engage in dialogue with each other, the buildings, the surrounding environment and the public. At the Esplanade, the exhibition “Surroundings” by German artist Claudia Wieser features six large-scale constructions that narrate stories through fragmented images.
Marlene Dumas presents her work for the first time in Greece at the Museum of Cycladic Art with the exhibition “Cycladic Blues”, curated by Douglas Fogle. The exhibition explores themes such as time, age, origin, family, and inevitable death.
Marlene Dumas presents her work for the first time in Greece at the Museum of Cycladic Art with the exhibition “Cycladic Blues”, curated by Douglas Fogle. The exhibition explores themes such as time, age, origin, family, and inevitable death.
At the National Gallery, high-quality copies of Goya’s engravings “Los Caprichos” are on display, and it’s also worth visiting the large retrospective on Panayiotis Tetsis, “The Obsession of the Gaze”– a vibrant and light-filled exhibition. At the B&M Theocharakis Foundation, a project dedicated to Pericles and Dicos Byzantios highlights their artistic similarities and differences.
Stefania Nazzal, known for her sculptural works using repurposed PVC strings to explore light, color and movement, collaborates with Kapopoulos Fine Arts to present her work in Greece and abroad.
German artist Bianca Kennedy arrives at Zoumboulakis Gallery and, as part of her residency, is working on “It was safer burning”, her first solo exhibition in Greece. The artist explores the relationship between memory, resistance and justice. (Until July 26)
At the Benaki Museum / Pireos Str., the contemporary art exhibition “It’s a bright green field” gathers works by artists under 40. It’s also worth engaging with the “Parliament” project – a social choreography prompting a reexamination of the notion of democracy.
At EMST, 60 artists from around the world respond to the question “Why look at animals” –a project curated by Katerina Gregou–, while the museum also hosts 4 solo exhibitions, connected to this overarching theme.
At the Athens Municipal Gallery, Stella Kapezanou presents her solo exhibition “Bad girls, big dragons”, curated by Ioanna Gerakidi. In the artist’s visual universe, female entities dominate mythical creatures (dragons, ravens, snakes). The exhibition reconsiders the limits of the “norm”, offering a fresh perspective on the forbidden and the marginal.
In Piraeus, close to the port, Intermission gallery is hosting the first exhibition dedicated to Jean-Michel Basquiat in Greece, running until August 2. Titled “Untitled”, after a 1983 work, the name reflects the artist’s refusal to conform to labels. Curated by gallery owner Artemis Baltogianni, the show features works on paper by the artist.
Theodoros Terzopoulos Through the Lens of Johanna Weber
At the Vrachon Theatre in Athens, a striking photographic installation presents powerful images from the iconic performances of Theodoros Terzopoulos, as captured through the lens of acclaimed photographer Johanna Weber. Co-curated by Terzopoulos and Weber, the installation serves as a visual journey through the work of a pioneer of international theatre. It highlights the intense physicality, spiritual depth, and ritualistic quality that define Terzopoulos’s unique theatrical language, offering a deeply immersive experience that reflects the essence of a stage practice that continues to influence generations of performers, directors, and scholars across the globe.
It is worth visiting an old neighbourhood of Athens, Kipoupoli Kypriadou, not only to explore a historic area but also to see a contemporary art exhibition titled “The air is subtle, yet it moves”, curated by Panos Giannikopoulos. The exhibition brings together works by 12 artists, both Greek and international, who are invited to respond to questions such as what is human and what is not, and what our relationship is with time, our bodies, and the world around us.In her new exhibition at Dio Horia, Dora Economou explores the complex dynamics between host and parasite, drawing from origami, mass-produced materials and botanical metaphors. Inspired by her travels and the visual tension of invasive flora like orchids and ivy, her work questions authorship, cultural borrowing and colonial legacy.
