The Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr Vasiliki Kassianidou inaugurated on Friday at Picasso Museum, in Barcelona an exhibition titled ‘Picasso and Cyprus: Encounters with Ceramics of the Mediterranean,’ pointing out that the juxtaposition of ancient Cypriot artefacts and Picasso’s work, speaks not only to artistic influence, but also to the enduring capacity of culture to transcend time, geography, and ideology.
The Deputy Minister of Culture said in a press release on Saturday that the exhibition, was organized as part of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026.
”In the exhibition, a selection of Picasso’s ceramic works is brought into dialogue with clay vessels from ancient Cyprus, where earlier forms, techniques and symbols are strongly connected with Picasso’s experimentation in clay. A continuity of ideas is created from the ancient Cypriot vessels to Picasso’s ceramic works, reminding us that antiquity and modernity are not opposing concepts, but parts of a continuous cultural conversation,” the press release noted.
In her address, the Deputy Minister of Culture expressed her gratitude to everyone involved in organizing the exhibition – the Department of Antiquities, the Embassy of Cyprus in Spain and all collaborators at Museu Picasso. She stressed that ‘the Cyprus Presidency is anchored in the vision of a European Union that is stronger, more resilient, socially cohesive and strategically autonomous to create a Europe that invests in people, in memory, in creation and in culture’. She also stressed that ‘one of the primary goals has been to strengthen the bonds within the Union by promoting culture as a vital instrument of political cohesion and a powerful expression of our shared European identity’.
Referring to the concept of the exhibition, Dr Kassianidou pointed out that ‘the juxtaposition of ancient Cypriot artefacts and Picasso’s work, speaks not only to artistic influence, but also to the enduring capacity of culture to transcend time, geography, and ideology’, reminding us that Europe’s cultural fabric is not static; it is woven through continuous exchanges, reinterpretations, and creative transformations.
In conclusion, the Deputy Minister referred to the power of culture to act as a medium of soft diplomacy and as an essential tool for fostering mutual understanding and solidarity among peoples.
The ceremony was held in the presence of representatives from the local government of Catalonia, the local authorities of Barcelona, as well as distinguished guests from the diplomatic corps, the cultural and artistic community.
The exhibition, that was curated by the Curator of Antiquities, Eftychia Zachariou, the art historian Dr Androula Michael and the former director of Picasso Museu in Barcelona, Dr Emmanuel Guigon. It will remain open to the public until 27 September 2026.
More information can be found on the website of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency https://cyculture2026.eu/ and on Museu Picasso’s website: https://museupicassobcn.cat/