One family. A century of change.

What do we inherit from our families, and what do we choose to pass on?

Six larger-than-life sculptural portraits, accompanied by documentary films and archival footage, trace a family’s journey from Smyrna (now İzmir) to Athens to New York.

Host the exhibition Meet the six portraits

Download exhibition brief · العربية / English · PDF

The family portraits installed on white plinths in a paved historic courtyard, seen in depth — Installation view, Campo dei Greci, Venice, 2024, presented alongside the Venice Biennale. Each bust 75–91 cm high, excluding plinth.

Four generations, six portraits

Grandmother

The Root

Maria left Smyrna in 1922 and rebuilt her life in Greece.

Meet Maria

Mother

The Haven

The care that helps a family rebuild and endure after upheaval.

Meet Panayota

Father

The Captain

A life at sea: distance, risk and the responsibility of making a living across oceans.

Meet Christos

Self-portrait

The Crucible

Transforming inherited memories into a personal artistic language.

Meet George

Wife

The Companion

The partner with whom a family is built and its story carried forward.

Meet the Companion

Daughter

The Light

The next generation inherits a past and remains free to shape its future.

Meet Sofia

“For the series, the highest accolade will be for people to recognize their own families in mine.”

George Petrides

Selected commissions and installations

Kore II, a gilded bust of a girl on a grey plinth outside a children’s hospital — **Kore II**, 2024. Entrance, Children’s Hospital “Aglaia Kyriakou”, Athens. Installed 2026. 85 cm high.

Head of Thalia II, a blue-green bronze head on a pedestal beside a staircase — **Head of Thalia II**, 2022. Tiffany & Co., The Landmark, 727 Fifth Avenue, New York. Cast bronze, blue-green patina. 38 cm high.

The artist standing beside Refugee-Woman of Smyrna, a hooded bronze-finished bust in a public garden — **Refugee-Woman of Smyrna**, 2022. Saint George Square, Neo Psychiko, Athens. 132 cm high, excluding base.

The public sculpture record: forty permanent placements, completed and in progress, across eight countries

The exhibition is available to museums and cultural institutions. Hosting information · Exhibition brief (PDF)