Six Artists in the Athens Spotlight This Summer

The Greek island of Hydra hogs the summer headlines, and this year Nari Ward is the guest star at the Slaughterhouse, invited by Dakis Joannou's DESTE Foundation. But Athens also has must-see solo shows. Here are six that run all summer.

Niki Kanagini - An Ode to Things

Until November 8

National Museum of Contemporary Art

This exhibition surveys Kanagini's four-decade career, featuring works across painting, tapestry, and installation.

See more on emst.gr

Olga Migliaressi-Phoca - Bang Bang

Until August 29

The Breeder

Migliaressi-Phoca’s exhibition unfolds as a sequence of visual elements spanning the gallery's facade and its two main floors. She explores the moment when play turns serious.

See more on thebreedersystem.com

Jeff Koons - ‘Venus’ Lespugue

Until August 31

Museum of Cycladic Art

Koons's Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange), which is in dialogue with copies of Paleolithic Venus figurines, explores the significance of the Venus figure from the Stone Age to the present day.

See more on cycladic.gr

David Weiss - Neocolor

Until September 12

Melas Martinos

The exhibition features works from Weiss's Neocolor series, produced between 1977 and 1978.

See more on melasmartinos.com

Urs Fischer - Eugène Atget

Until September 12

Gagosian Gallery

For his Athens debut, the artist combines silkscreening, hand-painting, and stenciling to create collages informed by his adopted home of Los Angeles.

See more on gagosian.com

Raul de Nieves - Venus in Us

Until September 5

Dio Horia Gallery

Inspired by the goddess Venus, the artist's immersive work presents her as a living force embedded in systems of desire, labor, ritual, beauty, and survival.

See more on diohoria.com