Mediterranean summer: all the exhibitions to see, from the Greek islands to the French Riviera

On the island of Lesbos, in Agia Paraskevi, there is a neoclassical-inspired building that houses a contemporary art gallery, the K-Gold Temporary Gallery, founded in 2014 by Nicolas Vamvouklis, which over the course of a decade has seen important artists such as Joan Jonas, Bas Jan Ader, Lucy+Jorge Orta, Ilias Papailiakis, and Jonathas de Andrade. From July 12 to August 31, the gallery is hosting a solo exhibition by Yorgos Maraziotis, entitled Blue Moon: a site-specific installation that reflects on living and human connections through sculptures and spatial interventions. Maraziotis explores the concept of displacement and the transformation of the meaning of objects out of context, with works inspired by oral testimonies from former inhabitants of the house that houses the gallery, combining neon, marble, metal, and mirrors with the original architectural elements.

On Porquerolles Island, surrounded by lush greenery and crystal-clear blue waters, lies the Fondation Carmignac. During the summer months of 2025, the foundation will host the Vertigo exhibition curated by Matthieu Poirier, a fascinating dialogue between abstract art of the late 20th century and the perception of natural phenomena in the Mediterranean—intense light, wind, sea, and the telluric power of the earth. Divided into six thematic sections (water, cosmogony, air, infinity, earth, and abyss), the exhibition brings together works by artists such as Yves Klein, James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson, Helen Frankenthaler, Ann Veronica Janssens, and many others, from museums, private collections, and the Carmignac Collection itself.

The Nivola Museum, home to the foundation dedicated to the artist of the same name, is a cultural center where art, architecture, and nature blend harmoniously. The permanent collection includes hundreds of sculptures, paintings, and graphic works by Nivola, but the museum also hosts temporary exhibitions, such as Nathalie Du Pasquier's site-specific project, from May 17 to September 14. The exhibition, designed for the spaces of the former wash house in Orani, is both a retrospective of paintings and an environmental installation in which art, architecture, and design come together. The works, from the 1980s to the present day, recount the transition from figurative to abstract forms born from three-dimensional constructions.

Cuban-American artist Coco Fusco presents a project at Macba in Barcelona focusing on Cuba and US immigration policies, the rise of the right wing and its insistence on a structural monoculture. Titled I Learned to Swim on Dry Land, the exhibition is inspired by a story by Virgilio Piñera and revolves around language, symbolic silence and the confrontation between art and authority. Cuban poetry and the voices of dissidents such as Piñera, Padilla, and Otero Alcántara are key elements in an audiovisual and documentary journey that reflects on post-revolutionary Cuba. Since the 1980s, Coco Fusco's artistic and curatorial practice has challenged colonial narratives, monolithic identity constructions, and the role of cultural institutions in the production of meaning. Through performance, video, and research, her work represents a systematic critique of institutional multiculturalism and the mechanisms of power that sustain it.

The exhibition The Space We Inhabit is on display at MICAS in Malta until September 28, dedicated to the theme of space in all its forms, with works by Caesar Attard, Vince Briffa, Austin Camilleri, Joyce Camilleri, Anton Grech, and Pierre Portelli. The artists involved offer diverse visions through painting, sculpture, video, and installations: starting from the traditional concept of landscape, the exhibition project develops as a conceptual reflection that transcends the physical, cultural, and imaginary boundaries of space. The works on display are not limited to the simple representation of reality, but question, reinterpret and transform it, exploring the liminal, perceptive and symbolic dimension of space itself.

The Birds Are Chirping Above the Tree echoes artist Hamid Zénati's childhood and his first Arabic lesson during his childhood in Algeria. The Kamel Lazaar Foundation and the Hamid Zénati Estate, with the support of the Goethe-Institut Tunis, present the first retrospective in Tunisia celebrating the eclectic vision of Hamid Zénati (1944–2022) at the B7L9 Art Centre. At the heart of the exhibition is a lively dialogue between the artist's practice and works from the Kamel Lazaar Foundation collection, with a particular focus on Tunisian modernism and modern and postmodern artists from North Africa and beyond. The exhibition highlights affinities, contrasts, and shared sensibilities between Zénati and his contemporaries, tracing links between generations, territories, and artistic languages.

In Marseille, the place to be for contemporary art is undoubtedly Friche la Belle de Mai. Until November 19, the Australian artist Madison Bycroft's solo exhibition is on display, revolving around the film The Sauce of All Order, projected inside an earthy space in continuity with the scenes from the final part of the film, creating an immersive and organic environment. The work, a mix of comedy, musical, and gore, tells the story of Felix Culpa's initiation into the college of augurs, priests of ancient Rome who interpreted the signs of nature. At the center is the emperor-empress Oren (an anagram of Néron - Nero), who recalls the character of Trimalchio, a caricature of the emperor in Petronius' Satyricon. As in the novel, the film reflects on excess, simulation, and ambiguity, blending reality and fiction in a tale of power and transformation.

Abito Mari is a solo exhibition by Italian artist Fabrizio Bellomo—promoted by the Mane Foundation with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute—hosted by the Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea di Tirana (GOCAT). In this project, which is also among the works selected for the Italian pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale curated by Guendalina Salimei, Bellomo explores the historical and cultural ties between Italy and Albania through videos, photos, and installations, with works created over the last twenty years. Abito Mari is a personal journey inspired by his Calabrian roots, in dialogue with the urban and social experiences shared in the two countries. The artist uses a popular language, involving local artisans and communities.

The Deste Foundation and the New Museum, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum in Athens, present In a Bright Green Field, the third joint exhibition dedicated to contemporary Greek and Cypriot artists. Opening on June 11, 2025, at the Benaki Museum – Pireos 138, the exhibition brings together twenty-nine young artists who imagine alternative futures based on a renewed relationship with nature and new forms of community. The works, which include painting, sculpture, film, and performance, address themes such as landscapes transformed by technology, emerging forms of collectivity, and ecological narratives. Curated by Gary Carrion-Murayari, the exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog with texts by critics and curators from Athens and Nicosia.

Straperetana is back again this year, from July 12 to August 17 in the Abruzzo village of Pereto, in the province of L'Aquila: a contemporary art exhibition that transforms the village into an open-air gallery. Curated by Paola Capata and Annalisa Inzana, this year's edition is entitled Iperfamiglie (Hyperfamilies) and aims to explore the concept of family through the works of fifteen artists. Two historic buildings in the village, Palazzo Maccafani and Palazzo Iannucci, host a series of videos, installations, and site-specific works. Among others, the exhibition features Ketty La Rocca, Stefano Arienti, Marzia Migliora, MP5, Diana Anselmo, and Giovanni Ozzola.

Vulcana is the new project launched by Manuela Morandi, founder of the Stromboli Prize, which transforms the island of Stromboli into an evocative stage. Vulcana 2025, curated by Luca Lo Pinto, involves twenty-one Italian and international artists in a widespread performative exhibition with performances, screenings, concerts, and installations in resonance with the island's natural and human environment. Participants include Tony Cokes, Hanne Lippard, Beatrice Gibson, Jonathan Monk, and many others. The events, all free of charge, will be held in symbolic and hidden locations on the island, which on this occasion becomes an experimental and interdisciplinary laboratory, open to improvisation and dialogue.