In the luminous heart of the Cyclades, ancient stone meets contemporary vision in the summer exhibition “Beating on the Wings of the Mind and Art”, featuring the work of acclaimed sculptor Venia Dimitrakopoulou. Hosted at the Archaeological Museum of Paros, this evocative show invites visitors to explore a dialogue across centuries—between marble carved in antiquity and modern forms pulsing with myth, memory, and flight.
The exhibition brings to life a rare encounter between Dimitrakopoulou’s new sculptural works and timeless artifacts of Parian heritage, including the museum’s iconic Nike—a winged figure who triumphed over time—and the enigmatic Gorgoneion, whose archaic smile continues to fascinate.
The Nike of Paros at the Archaeological Museums of Paros island. /Cédric Boissière, via Wikimedia Commons
“Two lines define the natural landscape of the Cycladic space. Oneis the straightline. The other, the curve. A straight line is the horizon, that of the sea. Curves arethe countless rounded angles in the rocks, the mountains, the characteristicbuildings of the Cycladic islands. A relentless, dazzling, cathartic lightcalls forfolds in fabrics, fluting on columns, and gives birth to the unimaginable play oflight and shadow in sculpture,” notes Venia Dimitrakopoulou
‘Perpetual Flight’ by Venia Dimitrakopoulou.
At the center of the exhibition are four new marble sculptures: Resting Nike, Wing of Myth, Perpetual Flight, and The Message of Dawn. Each piece converses with the Cycladic landscape and the museum’s treasures, echoing what Dimitrakopoulou calls the island’s “two defining lines”—the sea’s infinite horizon and the soft curves of rock, architecture, and ancient forms.
‘The Message of Dawn’ by Venia Dimitrakopoulou
The artist complements her sculptural language with Lines of Thought, a series of refined ink drawings on handmade paper, while the museum’s courtyard becomes a stage for six sculpted heads in volcanic stone, marking an introspective chapter in her evolving practice.
‘Astraios ‘ 2025, volcanic-stone, by Venia Dimitrakopoulou.
The immersive experience deepens through a musical composition by Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos, specially created for the exhibition. Heard via QR codes placed throughout the museum, the piece weaves sound into the silence of sculpture—transforming wind, footsteps, and light into what Kalantzopoulos calls “a song without words.”
As the renowned theatre director and writer Eleni Varopoulou who curates the exhibition writes: “In Parikia, within the halls of the museum, visitors walk among kouroi and korai, and find wings in motion, wings at rest—a contemporary presence echoing an eternal past.”
Exhibition Information
Venia Dimitrakopoulou | Beating on the Wings of the Mind and Art
Where: Archaeological Museum of Paros, Parikia
Dates: July 20 – August 19, 2025
Timetables: Wednesday–Monday: 8:30 – 15:30 | Tuesday: Closed
Admission included with museum ticket
Music by Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos
Organised by Friends of Paros and Antiparos, with support from the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades
Sponsored by the Evangelos Pistiolis Foundation
