Onassis Culture at the 62nd Venice Biennale

The Greek Pavilion at the 62nd International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, from May 9 to November 22, 2026, will be transformed into a contemporary Platonic Cave.

In the hands of Andreas Angelidakis, Plato’s allegory becomes a tool for exploring the present, a present in which the world of images is saturated with digital illusions and replicas. As an allegorical “escape room,” the Greek Pavilion reflects a reality that resembles a game, while on a symbolic level it embodies the paradox of a building attempting to escape its “self” and, by extension, its history.

Regarding the composition and structure of the work, the artist notes that the Pavilion is divided into two distinct sections: “One resembles bouzoukia, and the other a kiosk selling souvenirs.” One part is entirely digital, framed by his signature ‘poof order columns,’ while the other follows an alla turca aesthetic.

Taking a closer look at the historical status of the Pavilion, Andreas Angelidakis highlights the ideological role of the Biennale’s National Pavilions: “The National Pavilions of the Giardini were designed to communicate the political beliefs of the governments that erected them at that particular historical moment. Each Pavilion constitutes a mechanism of truth—just like the mechanisms in the allegory of the Platonic cave.”

In the same spirit, the curator of the Greek Pavilion, George Bekirakis, focuses on how the work interprets history through the everyday and the lived experience: “Angelidakis traces historical developments in Greece and Italy through small stories and incidents connected to the space. The Pavilion becomes a capsule where historical versions of Greek identity are placed alongside its urban, lived expressions of it, reminding us of the tension between reality and cultural fixations.”

The work proposes an alternative reading of history as something not fixed but constantly open to negotiation. As the curator himself notes: “The ‘escape room’ is an invitation to view history not as a given, but as an open field of interpretations.”

The project draws its inspiration from the architecture of the Greek Pavilion itself in the Giardini, which was shaped by government interventions in the 1930s. Observing how it is differentiated from the other National Pavilions, which appear white and simplified, the Greek Pavilion stands out for its use of stone and arches, evoking ecclesiastical architecture.

The Artistic Director of the Onassis Foundation, Afroditi Panagiotakou, further expands the reflection on the notion of national representation, while raising the question of identity in today’s world: “I think there comes a time when we have to ask ourselves what national participation means. How do we participate nationally in this Biennale? How do we participate as individuals when we see ourselves represented through art in an international art gathering? And what does ‘national’ mean in an era when so many people invoke it, but actually mean ‘nationalist,’ when the extremes are no longer even considered as such and tend to become mainstream?”

Onassis Culture supports Greece’s participation in the Venice Biennale for yet another year, remaining consistently by the side of the artists. As Afroditi Panagiotakou stated at the press conference: “We are the ones who support the strategy we believe must exist, so that artists can realize their vision and follow the path they deserve.” This initiative marks the continuation of a journey that began in 2015 and joins the list of past years' participations, with most recent “Xiromero/Dryland” (2024), “Oedipus in Search of Colonus” (2022), and “Mr. Stigl” (2019).

Artist: Andreas Angelidakis
Curator: George Bekirakis
Strategic supporter: Onassis Culture

The implementation of the work “escape room” and its presentation in Venice are primarily funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The National Commissioner is the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus).