A heart, an egg, and an apple “converse” with other themes drawn from the worlds of religion, politics, pop culture, tarot, and astrology. The common thread linking all of the above is their identity as symbols. In the exhibition of the same name—a new production on view from November 10, 2026, through May 23, 2027, at MOMUS—the Alex Mylonas Museum in Athens— 83 visual artists offer their own interpretations of the theme of symbols through paintings, sculptures, installations, prints, and videos. At the same time, in the accompanying catalog, essays by art historians explore the timeless presence of symbols in people’s lives.

The moment the cave dweller placed his hand on the rock and painted his handprint, alongside depictions of wild animals and hunting scenes, he created the first symbols: clear yet transcendent, signifying not merely the tangible world but its imaginary, metaphysical interpretation. The language of symbols is inseparable from humanity’s effort to establish nonverbal communication. From the dawn of time, symbols functioned primarily as a magical language. They drew inspiration from the natural world: plants, animals, the stars in the sky, and even human beings.

The exhibition “Symbols” aims to highlight the enduring power of symbols in the thinking of modern people. This is because it does not focus on the visual symbols of everyday life, nor on linguistic and mathematical symbols, nor on street signs in the city. Instead, the focus is on symbols that span cultures and societies. Symbols that recount the creation of the world over and over again. Symbols of life, nature, magic, ideology, and faith; and others of consumerism, pop culture, and cultural monuments. Timeless symbols, ancient and contemporary symbols, symbols drawn from the animal and plant worlds, symbols that refer to human existence itself.

The exhibition reminds us that the appreciation of art is, to a large extent, a process of recognition and translation. It requires us to take our time to explore it and pay attention to the details of each work, each symbol, so that we may uncover their own inner stories. We are called upon to act as visitors-translators rather than mere observers of symbols, for these symbols come to life again the moment our gaze questions their meaning.

Participating artists: Chloe Akritaki, Alexis Akritakis, George Alexandridis, Tasos Anastasiadis, Mary Antonopoulou, Anita Argyroiliopoulou, Andreas Vais, Vasilis Vasilakakis, Bambis Venetopoulos, Ioulia Ventikou, Andriana Verveti, Andreas Vousouras, Takis Germenis, Dimitris Geros, Nikos Giavropoulos, Marina Genadieva, Odysseas Glykas, Charalambos Dermatis, Jenny Doupi, Rania Emmanouilidou, Katerina Zacharopoulou, Vasilis Zografos, Christina Thalassa, Antigone Kavvatha, Iordanis Kalimerakis, Antonis Kapnisis, Aris Katsilakis, Nikos Kachrimanis, Daphne Klagou, Peggy Kliafa, Kosmas Kosmopoulos, Natalia Koursoumi, Despoina Konstantinou, Aphrodite Liti, Alexander Maganiotis, Kallina Maiopoulou, Thanos Makris, Natalia Maniaka, Manousos Manousakis, Dimitra Marouda, Panos Matthaiou, Kyriaki Mavrogeorgi, Dimitris Merantzas, Christina Mitrentse, Eva Mourtzi, Lina Bebis, Mania Benisi, Emmanouil Bitsakis, Nikolas Bliatkas, Christos Bokoros, Fani Bountouroglu, Alkis Boutlis, Margarita Bofiliou, Alex Mylona, Agapi Myrsodeli, Nourako (Fanouris Moraitis), Evita Pagona, Maria Panagiotou, Antonis Papadopoulos, Leonidas Papadopoulos, Gioula Papadopoulou, Aliki Pappa, Konstantinos Patsios, Natassa Poulantza, Vasilis Poulis, Periklis Pravitas, Panos Profitis, Argyris Rallias, Iphigenia Sdoukou, Nikos Sepetzoglou, Dimitra Siaterli, Alexei Siozov, Giannis Sotiriou, Dimitris Tragas, Nikos Tranos, Giorgos Tserionis, Kostas Tsolis, Dimitris Foutris, Dimitris Fragakis, Giorgos Hatzispyrou (Looper), Kostas Christopoulos, Dionysis Christofilogiannis, Lia Psoma.

Curated by: Giannis Bolis, Art Historian, Head of the Department of Contemporary Sculpture, MOMUS—Alex Mylonas Museum