Michael Petry has unveiled a monumental new work at the Vorres Museum in Athens, continuing his ongoing investigation into political violence, authoritarianism and the visual language of conflict.
Titled Civil War Painting Number 17 (CWP#17), the vast new work measures two metres high by ten metres long and was created during a three-week residency at the museum in Greece. Curated by Olga Daniylopoulou, the work is now installed at the museum’s entrance, where it is visible through a glass façade overlooking a reflective pool.
The painting-installation extends Petry’s recent exploration of political fracture and social instability in the United States, responding to what the artist describes as attempts by the current American government to provoke conditions resembling civil conflict through militarised occupation and state intimidation.
Drawing direct visual and conceptual parallels with Guernica by Pablo Picasso, the work references both the scale and anti-war intensity of Picasso’s iconic mural, while also engaging with Greece’s own histories of civil war and military occupation.
Petry has described the imagery of masked armed forces demanding identification papers as recalling scenes from Berlin in 1939, embedding the work within a broader historical conversation about fascism, state control and collective memory.
At the same time, CWP#17 operates as a dialogue with Andy Warhol’s late camouflage paintings. Unlike Warhol’s silkscreened surfaces, however, Petry physically paints every gesture and mark, emphasising material presence and painterly labour. The work also draws comparisons with large-scale immersive painting traditions associated with Claude Monet and his Water Lilies series.
Created specifically for the Vorres Museum setting, the work incorporates three colours tied closely to the Greek landscape and environment: ochre earth tones, terracotta reds and the deep blue of the Aegean sky. Positioned between painting and installation, the piece transforms the museum entrance into a site of reflection — both literal and political.
Known for layered interdisciplinary practices spanning sculpture, installation and painting, Petry continues here to merge historical reference, political critique and formal experimentation within a single immersive work.
CWP#17 is on view at the Vorres Museum in Athens until the end of June 2026.
All images Michael Petry at Vorres Museum © Michael Petry
