Kostas Tsoklis

Kostas Tsoclis is a Greek visual artist. He was born in Athens in 1930 and studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts until 1954. From 1957 to 1960, he continued his studies in Rome with a scholarship from the I.K.Y. From 1960 to 1984, he lived and worked in Paris, with a brief interlude in 1971-72 when he resided in Berlin as a guest of the D.A.A.D. In 1984, he permanently settled in Athens. His work gained international recognition in the late 1960s when he began exhibiting his perspective "Objects." Since then, he has systematically experimented with various forms of expression, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, installations, video, performance, light, and sound, seeking new ways to approach objects, nature, myths, and social issues. A milestone in his continuous exploration was his participation in the 1986 Venice Biennale, where he represented Greece with a series of works such as "Speared Fish" and "Portraits," paintings on which video images were projected. These works proposed a "living painting," which he further developed in 1990 by introducing specific viewing time into the visual artwork for the complex multimedia show "Medea," presented at the Cadran Solaire in Troyes, France. Kostas Tsoclis has held over a hundred solo exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide, including the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels (1971), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (1972), Pierides Gallery in Athens (1983), Luigi Pecci Museum in Prato, Italy (2000), the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens (2000-2001), and Palazzo Strozzi in Florence (2003), among others. He has showcased his work in major European and American cities and participated in significant international group exhibitions, such as the Paris Biennale (1963 and 1965), Sao Paulo Biennale (1965), and Documenta in Kassel (1975). In 1986, he represented Greece alongside Christos Kara at the Venice Biennale. The Frissiras Museum presented a tribute to his early works (1950-59) in 2001. The same year, a major retrospective of his work was held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Along with Vlassis Caniaris, Yiannis Gaitis, Nikos Kessanlis, and Dimitris Kontos, he was part of the artistic group Gruppo Sigma in Rome in the late 1950s. His works adorn public spaces, such as the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Tribute to Alexander Iolas) and the Ethniki Amyna Metro Station in Athens (Underground Park).