NIKOS ALEXIOU
The brittle trace of symbols

Curated by:
Maria Maragkou

Contemporary Art Museum of Crete
32 Mesologhiou str, Rethymnon

Opening: Friday, May 8th 2026, 7:30 -9:30 pm


The Contemporary Art Museum of Crete, continuing its dialogue with issues of art and society, returns to the artwork of Nikos Alexiou with his retrospective exhibition “The brittle trace of symbols.”

This exhibition presents selected fragments from the overall trajectory of the significant artist. Nikos Alexiou, born in 1960 in Rethymno, embodies the qualities of both a local and global artist.

As stated in her text, the exhibition curator, Maria Maragkou,
… The brittle trace of his symbolic language are the Labyrinths, the Solar Rooms, the Monasteries, the Squares—forms that surrender to the inner logic of the works, repeating themselves through different media and expressions, like a fragile imprint that inscribes without imposing.
What emerges is a resilient fragility, shaped by handiwork of time and silence—an immaterial that carries and records memory.
Alexiou’s practice is rooted in memory—from a childhood blanket to Mount Athos, where he stayed for an extended period. This memory is interwoven through hundreds of “characters” on paper in a serially manner, while an insistence on detail defines a play of innocence that conceals tragic manifestations.
Nikos’s reeds, strings, and papers balance but also are in danger, always at risk to be broken or destroyed by a clumsy move…

Exhibition duration: May 8th to November 6th, 2026.

The artworks come from his sister, Popi Alexiou, the Alpha Bank Art Collection, the collection of the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST), and the collection of the Contemporary Art Museum of Crete. 

 

CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM OF CRETE
Municipality of Rethymnon - Directorate of Culture
32 Mesologhiou str. - Rethymnon
T: +30 28310 52530
E-mail: info@cca.gr, http\\: www.cca.gr

  

You can find photographic material from the exhibition at the link provided
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ulu1gz9x9vuspgzlqbnuu/AKCFQR2xALgmyeNJY2nC2Co?rlkey=lrpvn92sdpbjyi98soubftazo&st=vhyirize&dl=0

 

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