Born in Thessalonica, Kostis Georgiou studied stage scenery in Florence (1981-1982), painting and sculpture in the School of Fine Arts, Athens (1982-1986) with Dimitris Mitaras and Dimosthenis Kokinidis, as well as at the Royal College of Fine Arts, London (1985-1986) with Peter de Francia. His first one-man exhibition was in Thessalonica (1974). Since then his work has been represented in numerous solo and group exhibitions all over the world and won several international awards. Recently, Georgiou’s works were exhibited in a five museum tour in China.

I believe the artist misses his point when desperately seeking on the surface some appalling theme, to provoke or simply impress. The genuine creator owes all to himself, and then to his public, to resist the sirens of leading-groups dictating today’s life style, which systematically aims at depriving the whole society of its meaning, substance and the reason for things to happen. The real artist should stand up dynamically and with responsibility against this enveloping prevailing “modern” notion , which states that nothing in life requires any special skills, that nothing needs approval and that the obvious connection between effort and results is not a need. This is what an artist should fight for. His only weapon in doing so, is Truth. The Truth is the one and only mean for bringing «avant-guarde » spirit into art and life. One has to find it of course. Truth is therefore the basic element I am looking for in my work.

Figures in my work are not there to describe typical characteristics and elements of a manhood or womanhood. They are standing there as part of the total composition of the frame. I don’ t care about similarities or realistic descriptions. What I am looking for, is the force , mystery and dramatic situation induced by thoughts. What I am looking for is the interior voices and the hidden messages which are flying around like phantoms in space.

My intention is to trap the internal truth of any element, within the limits of the frame. The colour is the vehicle to reach the absolut image that I have in my mind. It is the main tool to show my happiness, my cries, my fears, my critic and the drama of life. It takes a lot of work and an immense agony to install everything in the right position. Everything keeps moving and not one thing is easy to be imagined in a different place. Perfection is the most difficult level of art and life, and because of it there is no end and limits, and you never reach it. By working on it, you are getting better and better all the time. You feel as a traveller engaged in a trip beyond any limit. You feel as a small God and a miserable beggar at the same time. When I am working in a black and white work, things are very difficult and sometimes more mysterious. Everything there is shadows, lights and tones. The medium theoretically is poor, because you have just two colours ( black and white) to deposit the same feelings and searchings like in the colourful works. Although those difficulties provoke stronger energy and effort. The result is the same with the colored works and most of the time it is stronger and more impressive.

When I feel the need to « change level », I “jump” into sculpting. It is the same philosophy that drives my sculpture or drives my paintings. Even if the search is the same, media are different. In painting we mimic the third dimension but in sculpture, third dimension does really exist. And of course the approach is totally different. It is very important to complete the holes of our existence with different media. It is very serious to have different exits to the universe. It is very exciting to swim in magic and the beautiful seas of creation using various media.

Besides, in those expressions of art, my poetry and my music come together. And all this is not a product of some personal imperialism, but a strong need to understand my world and the planet. It is not the selfish behavior of an heretic man who likes to show to people that he can do a lot of things together. I don’t give a penny about it. The only thing I am looking for, is the largest possible way of expression which offers all these different tools of art. (painting, sculpture, music, poetry and who knows what else…)

-Kostis Georgiou June 7th, 2011

The paintings and sculptures of Kostis Georgiou can be seen in public squares and Foundations/Organisations in Athens and abroad, (State Museum of Modern Art-Thesalloniki, Bank of Piraeus, Ministry of Greek Tourism, Ministry of Greek Culture, Osaka Museum of Modern Art, Hyogo Perfectural Museum of Modern Art – Japan, National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, Greek Postbank, Absolute Americana Museum-Florida-USA, Museo Civico-Italy , Red Cross-Cyprus etc.), and in important private collections.