ISLAND ART GUIDES:Salamis-Sky/Sea/Sun: It’s like a Song! (Part II)

Akakia Apergi, Untitled, 2026, Plaster, 10 × 15 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

Capturing the essence of summer, a new exhibition featuring contemporary works inspired by the sun, sea, and sky of the Greek and Mediterranean landscape is set to open on Hydra for one week. The event is curated by Efi Michalarou (Art Critic, Curator, and Treasurer of AICA Hellas) and organized by the dreamideamachine NPO. It is presented at the Melina Mercouri Art and Concert Hall, under the auspices of the Municipality of Salamis, the Deputy Mayoralty of Culture & Youth, and the Municipal Community of Ampelakia (Part I).

By Valia S. Katsimpa
Photo: Artists Archive

This collective exhibition, titled “Sky/Sea/Sun: It’s like a Song!”, approaches the Greek and Mediterranean landscape not merely as a representation, but as a lived experience, brought to life through the diverse works of a large group of contemporary artists. In an era where nature is deeply challenged and the reality of climate change grows ever more pressing, anchoring ourselves to the foundational elements of worldly beauty feels like a wish, a prayer, a hymn. Like a melody drifting and vibrating beneath the starry summer sky—a sky that, through the eyes of the poet, has always guided human existence through things great and small, sparking philosophical reflections and giving breath to the world’s poetry. It is a tribute to the Aegean and Ionian seas, which have long embraced travellers, cooling their thoughts and dreams while shaping the human geography and cultural tapestry of the Mediterranean. And finally, it is about a sun and a light like no other, which pierce through time to illuminate traditions and cultures, manners and customs, awakening collective memory and lived experience. Here, this Mediterranean landscape is explored through various media, such as painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, installation, and video. Inspired by the sky, the sea, and the sun, the works translate these elements into contemporary visual languages, focusing on experience and the inner landscape.

Participating Artists: Natasa Agelaki, Akakia Apergi, Giota Balomenou, Eva Bratopoulou, Fenia Chatzimixail, Marianna Dervou, Chrisoula Dimaresi, Danae Dimoutziki, Lila Didou, Vaggelis Dionas Dimitris Lempesis, Kiriaky Gaglia, Morfoula Farandou, Christos Fourikis, Annalina Fotopoulou, Eva Geraki, Maria Georgiadou, Aggeliki Germakopoulou, Leonidas Gkelos, Tatiana Gribanova-Diona, Sofia Gounaropoulou, Athina Hatzi, Evangellos Kalogeropoulos, Yiannis Kaminis, Christianna Kampi, Dora Kapetan Lamprou, Vaggelis Karamanlis, Magda Kafetzopoulou, Alexandros Maganiotis, Stathis Mavridis, Markella Michalitsianou, Ioanna Michopoulou, Christina Minani, Katerina Mitri, Dina Politi, Eleni Pappa Tsantilis, Anna Papadopoulou, Panagiotis Rappas, Nelly Rizou, Christina-Sylvia Simantira, Iryna Sinkevich, Athena Stamatis, Konstantinos Stoupathis, Sonia Tsiplitari, Dimitra Tziomaka, Thodoris Tolis, Chara Theodorou, Hera Vitali, Grigoria Vryttia, Flora Zafeiraki, Maria Zygomala

Photo: Akakia Apergi, Untitled, 2026, Plaster, 10 × 15 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

Info: Curator: Efi Michalarou, Melas Hall, Sikinou 2, Ampelakia, Salamis Island, Greece Duration: 6-13/9/26, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 18:00-21:00, Sun 12:00-14:00

Under the auspices of the Municipality of Salamis, the Deputy Mayoralty of Culture & Youth, and the Municipal Community of Ampelakia.

Media sponsors: Independent & ARTVIEWS

Tatiana Gribanova-Diona, Sunflowers I, 2011, Acrylic on canvas, 50x70 cm
Tatiana Gribanova-Diona, Sunflowers I, 2011, Acrylic on canvas, 50×70 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Left: Vangelis Dionas, Portrait, 2026, Acrylic on canvas, 50x60 cm Right: Flora Zafiraki, Sea Within, Fine art photographic paper and framed with glass, each 30x40 cm
Left: Vangelis Dionas, Portrait, 2026, Acrylic on canvas, 50×60 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Right: Flora Zafiraki, Sea Within, Fine art photographic paper and framed with glass, each 30×40 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Evangelos Kalogeropoulos, Olive Trees, 2026, Mixed media on paper 425g (Charcoal, watercolor, gouache and gold leaf), 30x40 cm
Evangelos Kalogeropoulos, Olive Trees, 2026, Mixed media on paper 425g (Charcoal, watercolor, gouache and gold leaf), 30×40 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Grigoria Vryttia, Dissecting Sweetness II, 2025, Embroidery on doily and cotton canvas, 30 × 30 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Grigoria Vryttia, Dissecting Sweetness II, 2025, Embroidery on doily and cotton canvas, 30 × 30 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Left: Thodoris Tolis, Yialouda, 2026, monotype (1/1), digital oil, Giclée print, © & Courtesy the artist Right: : Sonia Tsiplitari, Purifying, 2026, Watercolor & ink on paper, 40 × 50 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Left: Thodoris Tolis, Yialouda, 2026, monotype (1/1), digital oil, Giclée print, © & Courtesy the artist
Right: : Sonia Tsiplitari, Purifying, 2026, Watercolor & ink on paper, 40 × 50 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Maria Georgiadou, 2026, "Then he spoke and the sea was born and I saw and marveled. And in the middle of it he sowed small worlds in my image and likeness", Acrylics on paper, 24x32 cm
Maria Georgiadou, 2026, “Then he spoke and the sea was born and I saw and marveled. And in the middle of it he sowed small worlds in my image and likeness”, Acrylics on paper, 24×32 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Leonidas Gkelos, Roris igni (Rosemary in Fire), 2026, Icon-painting pigments, oil, varnish, rosemary on canvas mounted on board (series: 25 works 21 × 29.7 cm and 2 works 29.7 × 42 cm), © & Courtesy the artist
Leonidas Gkelos, Roris igni (Rosemary in Fire), 2026, Icon-painting pigments, oil, varnish, rosemary on canvas mounted on board (series: 25 works 21 × 29.7 cm and 2 works 29.7 × 42 cm), © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Dimitris Lempesis, Hydra I, 2026, Color Photograph, 30x40 cm, 1/5
Dimitris Lempesis, Hydra I, 2026, Color Photograph, 30×40 cm, 1/5, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Stathis Mavridis, The Harbor, 2026, Oil on canvas, 35x50 cm
Stathis Mavridis, The Harbor, 2026, Oil on canvas, 35×50 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Left: Katerina Mitri, Between II, 2024, engraving, 29 × 39 cm, © & Courtesy the artist Right: Markella Michalitsianou, Immortality, 2024, Mixed media, 32 × 19 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Left: Katerina Mitri, Between II, 2024, engraving, 29 × 39 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Right: Markella Michalitsianou, Immortality, 2024, Mixed media, 32 × 19 cm, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Ioanna Michopoulou, Rocks by the Sea, 2026, Oil on canvas, 35 × 50 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Ioanna Michopoulou, Rocks by the Sea, 2026, Oil on canvas, 35 × 50 cm, © & Courtesy the artist, © & Courtesy the artist

 

 

Left: Eva Geraki, Future Waves, 2026, Oil on canvas, 40 × 50 cm, © & Courtesy the artist Right: Giota Balomenou, Movement I, 2026, Ink on rice paper, 30 × 40 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Left: Eva Geraki, Future Waves, 2026, Oil on canvas, 40 × 50 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
Right: Giota Balomenou, Movement I, 2026, Ink on rice paper, 30 × 40 cm, © & Courtesy the artist