NIKOS PODIAS, an artistic alchemist of sorts, transforms elements of the everyday into mesmerizing visual creations.  Delicacy, sensitivity, and intricacy are all part of his artistic practice, which also speaks of patience, the therapeutic and ritualistic act of repetition, and the beauty of metamorphosis. In his hands, stained papers of teabags are joined together, to become an ethereal lace tapestry and paper becomes the fragilest of armours. Paper foils found in cigarette boxes become a golden, abstract artwork reminiscent of both primordial inca artefacts and 60s-70s aesthetics. It is as if these materials have manifested into a new, higher realm, shedding their mundane everyday reality via the artist’s meticulous labour. But there is a touch of drama too in his current exhibition at Citronne gallery, where lighting plays a crucial role, casting shadows from some of the works, and so completing their whole. Nikos Podias’ exhibition-installation at Citronne Gallery, entitled Safe Area, runs till January 3.

Nikos Podias draws his themes from traditions and echoes of global culture. In his practice, he explores the possibilities of paper. The resulting works—textures, forms, rhythms, and patterns—generate objects and creatures charged with the magical and apotropaic properties of amulets. Safe Area is a new body of work that forms a potentially shielded, yet fragile, space. Protection and the prevention of evil occupy a central place in the artist’s process of restoring and reconfiguring his original material, which unfolds through multiple stages of transformation. This metamorphosis, a process of personal introspection, isolates the artist from external stimuli. Absorbed in the repetition of gestures, his gaze turns inward; studio time becomes personified; the making of the works advances almost unconsciously.

Podias draws from popular allegories, myths, and folktales rooted in local as well as universal traditions. The snake’s shed skin—an emblem of protection and good fortune; the hedgehog’s quills—symbols of self-defense and wisdom; the Eastern talismanic shirts that ward off evil: the artist creates paper constructions that resemble textiles—protective yet simultaneously fragile, airy, and light. He restores and repurposes found and reclaimed materials such as cigarette foil wrappers or tea bags.

A network of anonymous collaborators collects Podias’ materials. These discarded yet functional elements are recycled into works that reflect a collective imagination and subconscious, reminiscent of archetypal amulets. The material retains a private memory, as its origin is embedded within the delicate and intricate structures that Podias “molds.” The motifs and textures evoke architectural shells or landscapes-surfaces—peculiar, fragile spaces. These finely wrought, sensitive environments interweave and unfold in space, generating a surreal dimension. Within a single piece of paper, personal and collective experiences are synthesized. Through reconstruction, multiple memories are revived, producing multiple readings. 

In Safe Area, an unexpectedly mysterious and captivating environment is created. The visitors perceive luminous reflections and shadows diffused through the works—a visible lightness combined with the seemingly sharp, deceptive nature of the materials; the paradox of a paper armor. All these seemingly contradictory elements compose a liminal state between safety and vulnerability.

Nikos Podias (b. 1974) graduated from the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he studied under Dimitris Mytaras, and went on to complete an MA in Scenography at Central Saint Martins–College of Art and Design in London. In his artistic practice, he collects, transforms, and reanimates fragments of history, culture, and everyday life, creating associations and narratives. He chooses fragile materials that evoke decay and processes them with methodical care; through preservation and “nurturing,” he revives unconscious and collective memories.

His works focus on opposing notions such as materiality and immateriality, fragility and hardness, the ephemeral and the enduring, the incomplete and the whole, the structured and the free composition. His technically refined works reveal detail, time, care, and devotion—elements that attest to the ritualistic nature of his process.

Podias was awarded a scholarship by the A. S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (2000). Since 2005, he has been a member of the curatorial team of Video Art Miden, an independent organization dedicated to the research and promotion of video art. His work has been presented in numerous site-specific installations and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

Nikos Podias is represented by CITRONNE Gallery.

Nikos Podias, Safe Area Exhibition dates: October 23, 2025–January 3, 2026

Opening hours: Tue, Thu, Fri: 11:00–20:00; Wed, Sat: 11:00–16:00.

CITRONNE Gallery–Athens 19 Patriarchou Ioakeim St. 10675 Athens | 4th floor Tel: (+30) 210 7235 226. Email:info@citronne.comwww.citronne.com

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