Marlene Dumas: Cycladic Blues

Discover how ancient forms and modern realities meet in Cycladic Blues, as Athens hosts one of contemporary art’s most powerful voices: South African-born painter Marlene Dumas. Renowned for her deeply personal and evocative works, Dumas presents her first solo exhibition in Greece at the Museum of Cycladic Art, running until November 3, 2025.
The exhibition features over thirty paintings and works on paper, personally selected by the artist, alongside Cycladic antiquities from the museum’s permanent collection. This rare pairing invites visitors to experience a poetic dialogue between Dumas’s hauntingly expressive portraits and the timeless beauty of ancient Cycladic art.
Dumas’s art explores the complexities of the human condition — sexuality, love, death, and shame — rendered with gestural brushwork and a palette of fading, almost liquid colors. Her works challenge and captivate, blending personal history, popular culture, and art history with profound moral urgency.
Described as the highest-paid living female artist, Dumas’s record-breaking sales underscore her global significance. Her exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art stands as a testament to the powerful dialogue between contemporary art and cultural heritage.