The myth of Aphrodite’s arrival on Kythera made the Ionian island an early topos of artistic imagination. In the 18th century, this developed into a central motif in European art and literary history: Kythera stood for an Arcadian realm of love, which was understood as a utopian counterpoint to standardized courtly society. Especially in the painting of the time—from Watteau’s famous „Embarkation for Cythera“ to landscape depictions in travel albums—the island became a projection screen for ideals of freedom, sensuality, and closeness to nature.
The core of the exhibition consists of watercolors depicting the Ionian island of Zakynthos, a tourist destination that is itself considered a refuge from the constraints of everyday life: „And someday I’ll stay there“ (S.T.S.). This also addresses the rupture inherent in any idealized projection onto a concrete topography: between aesthetic transfiguration, commercial appropriation, and real landscape, a field of tension unfolds that invites reflection on the need for and permanence of utopian imaginations.