Dimitris Pikionis (1887-1968) is a significant figure in 20th-century Greek culture. A friend of the painter Giorgio De Chirico, he studied painting and sculpture in Munich and later in Paris—where he came into contact with modern painting, especially the work of Cézanne and Paul Klee, as well as the sculpture of Rodin. Upon returning to his native Greece, he rediscovered his passion for architecture without abandoning painting. At the same time, and in collaboration with a group of artists, he edited the magazine To Trito Mati (“The Third Eye”), a key publication in the 1930s that introduced the European avant-garde to Greece.

Although a contemporary of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, his architecture sought to integrate tradition with modern abstraction. Dimitris Pikionis's work synthesizes in its form the desire to address the condition of Hellenic cultural identity, understood as a synthesis of West, East, and Byzantium.

The exhibition showcases the creative process of the Greek architect through six architectural works. Interspersed among Pikionis's images, drawings, and plans are the architect's own words. His thoughts, reflections, and autobiographical notes guide the visitor. At the center of the room is his most important project: the landscape treatment of the approaches to the Acropolis of Athens, replete with pictorial references in its paving. An example of what we might consider an "aesthetic topography."

Image credit: Dimitris Pikionis in Delphi. ©2025 Benaki Museum / Modern Greek Architecture Archives.