“What Did Not Burn” │ Open-air sculpture exhibition at Achaia Clauss – 2026-09-12

In the early hours of Saturday 5 September 2026, a few hours before the “Open Harvest”, a fire broke out at Achaia Clauss. It burned the interior of the stone building where the historic winery received its visitors. The Imperial Cellar, with its old vintages, and the historical archive were left untouched.

A week later, on Saturday 12 September, the gates of the estate opened again for the harvest. The Hellenic Diaspora Foundation took part with the open-air sculpture exhibition “What Did Not Burn”, under the aegis of the University of Patras, with works by Constantin Andréou, Memas Kalogiratos and Kosta Alex.

The choice of the three artists was not incidental. The Antonopoulos family, who acquired Achaia Clauss in 1919, had been collecting Andréou’s work since the years of the Occupation, and Andreas Antonopoulos was a friend of the sculptor for forty years. Memas Kalogiratos came to Patras as a child, after occupying forces burned his family home in Kefalonia in 1943. Kosta Alex, the son of Greek immigrants to America, lived and worked in Paris.

The film follows the works from their transport to the garden of the estate and the interior of the burned building, among the visitors and the Mavrodaphne harvest.

What did not burn: the wines in the cellar, the works, the memory. And the harvest, which took place.

The artists: Constantin Andréou · Memas Kalogiratos · Kosta Alex