From September 17 to November 2, 2025, The Breeder Feeder in Athens presents Summer Nostalgia, an exhibition dedicated to Kostas Paniaras (1934–2014) — an artist whose life and work were deeply intertwined with the landscapes of his homeland.
Born in Kiato, a seaside town in Corinth, Paniaras grew up surrounded by the horizon’s infinite line and the constant presence of the sea. This environment shaped not only his memories but also the mythological undertones of his art. His series Kolymvitries (Female Bathers, 1997–1998), featured in Summer Nostalgia, reflects this duality: women, both familiar and anonymous, seem to float with the waves, at once rooted in memory and elevated to the realm of myth. They could be Europa, Leda, or Aphrodite herself — reimagined as if she had risen from the waters of Kiato instead of Cyprus.
“From memory, yes, and from nostalgia. They may be the girls we fell in love with in the summers in Kiato, or they may be Venus herself—born in Kiato instead of Cyprus or Cythera, why not? To me, a woman in a bathing suit in the sea is a rising Venus.”
— Kostas Paniaras
Paniaras’s work consistently returned to a central question: how deeply did his connection to the Greek landscape define his artistic journey? Over his career, he moved seamlessly between painting, sculpture, stage design, and installation, experimenting with materials and techniques that placed him at the forefront of innovation in his time.
Almost thirty years after their creation, the works in Summer Nostalgia resonate anew. They invite viewers not only to engage with Paniaras’s vision but also to project their own memories of summers past — personal recollections that echo the universal allure of the sea.
