IN THE EXHIBITION Life on Mars, Irini Diadou draws from science fiction literature, music and contemporary scientific thought, to compose a reflection on escape, utopia and the future of human existence. Mars, the red planet, functions here not as a scientific destination, but as a field of imagination, projection and existential search.

From Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles to David Bowie’s iconic song, Mars appears as a place of desire, hope and doubt. Today, the prospect of space colonization, at the same time that the Earth is being tested by the climate crisis, sharply raises the question: are we looking for a new world or a way to avoid responsibility for the present?

The Life on Mars exhibition proposes, with this series of abstract paintings, a shift in perspective: perhaps the point is not to abandon Earth, but to see it differently – so that we can truly understand it.

Irini Diadou was born in Germany in 1963. She studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts. With a DAAD scholarship, she continued her studies at the Berlin School of Fine Arts (HdK) in 1989. In 2000, she received a Fulbright scholarship for her artistic work and worked as an Artist in Residence in New York. She has held solo exhibitions in Athens, Berlin and New York, and has participated in group exhibitions in Athens, Paris and Brussels. She lives and works in Athens.

FokiaNou Art Space is an active and open hub of artistic creation, fostering collaboration between Greek and international artists. In 2024 it celebrated ten years of continuous presence, having presented, under the curatorship of Mary Cox and Panagiotis Voulgaris, more than 70 group, solo, and interdisciplinary exhibitions, as well as workshops and talks. Its outward-looking character is further strengthened through participation in major international events, such as the TRYST Art Fair at the Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles, the Athena exhibition in Karlsruhe (2025), and the SuperMarket Independent Art Fair in Stockholm (2023, 2019), contributing to the networking of independent art spaces and the development of a wider international collaborative community.

Irini Diadou’s solo exhibition Life on Mars runs till 14 March 2026.

Opening Hours: Thursday to Saturday, 17:00–20:00

Address: FokiaNou Art Space, 24 Fokianou St., 7th floor, Pangrati, Athens