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COSTAS EVANGELATOS (Greece, Cephalonia, Argostoli b. 1957 / act: Athens) |
Costas Evangelatos is a unique case of an artist somewhere between an apprentice and an authority. He has grasped the lessons of art history, but at the same time seems to play competently with these. In any case, the object of his aesthetic obsession is the constant search for contemporary beauty and desirable passion. He has taken off from the point significant twentieth century movements had reached, and has engaged with a plurality of expressions to shatter the boundaries of the visual arts and performances. In a few words, his art begins with a poetic realism of symbolic extensions, and proceeds in individual styles and designs with colorful processing. A major ingredient in his work is the use of text, which charges his subject with intrinsic meanings.Costas Ch. Evangelatos was born on 12 November 1957 in Argostoli of Cephalonia Island, Greece. He received a diploma at the Law School of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. Parallel to that he studied free design at the workshop of George Vogiatzis. He then continued drawing under the guidance of painter and critic George Focas, and in the period 1978-1979 entered the workshop of surrealist artist Dimitris Geros. During 1981-1982 Evangelatos had frequent sessions with the master artist Yannis Tsarouchis. In 1984 he enrolled at the Fine Art department of the New School in Manhattan, New York, taking part in the classes of Pearl Ehrlich and Allen David. Finally, in the period 1986-1993 he was artistic director of Dada Gallery in Athens.
Evangelatos founded 'Art Studio EST', which is a cooperative with a shared intellectual and aesthetic sensibility about art. The term 'EST' derives from its particular use in the writings of Martin Heidegger, which expresses the philosophical dimension of being, through which it may be possible for one to arrive at the essence of art, and therefore to question it.
Costas Evangelatos presented the following personal exhibitions: Argostoli City Hall, Cultural Center of Ithaka, Greece (1973); K.E.O. Athens (1976, 1980, 1983); 7 Island Cultural Center, Piraeus (1976, 1978); Student Union, National Technical University University of Athens - NTUA, Athens (1977); Corfu Reading Society, Corfu, Greece (1978); City Hall, Zakynthos, Greece (1979); Cephalonian Historical Research Society, Argostoli, Cephalonia (1977, 1982); Art Gallery, Hellenic American Union - HAU, Athens (1981); Educational Union of Messinia, Kalamata, Greece (1982); Institut Français d'Athènes, Kalamata, Greece (1983); Writers & Books Inc., Rochester, New York (1984); Fordham University, Lincoln Center, New York (1985); Dada Gallery, Athens (1985, 1987, 1989); Bibliorama, Glyfada, Greece (1986); Kennedy Hall, Hellenic American Union, Athens (1986); Nafplion Art Gallery, Nafplion, Greece (1988); Center Culturel les Fontaines, Chantilly, France (1988); Gallery F, Athens (1989); Art Center, Xanthi, Greece (1989); Art Studio, Cortona, Arezzo, Italy (1989); Conceptual Landscapes, Gallery F, Athens (1990); Small Retrospective, Cultural Center Poros, Cephalonia, Greece (1992); Brushstroke, Athens (1990-1993); Art Studio EST, Athens (1994); Nebulagraphics, Cultural Center of Athens City Hall, Athens (1995); Ermoupolis Art Gallery, Syros, Greece (1995); Opus 39 Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus (1996); Art Gallery, Lefkas, Greece (1996); Pantazidis Arts Centre, Athens (1996); Magna Gallery, Athens (1997); Retrospective 1983-1997, Centre of Architecture, Thessaloniki (1998)Scriptonium: Paintings 1984-1988, Freedom Park Art Center, Athens (1999); Body-Concepts in Attic Light: Paintings & Photos, Gallery Gert-Jan Paridon, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1999); Retrospective 1973-2000, Art Gallery of Municipal Theater Kefalos, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2000); Clouds & Figures, ArTower Agora / Clio ArtNet Galleries, Athens (2000); Nude Bodies, Gallery Ydrotechnon, Mykonos, Greece (2001); Body-Passion, Meli Theater, Athens (2001); Painted Woods, Villa Rodopi, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2002); Body-Graphics and Geometrical Areas, Alta Linea, Athens (2003); NebulaGraphic Travel, Villa Rodopi, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2003); The Ionian Sirens & Body-Limpics, Villa Rodopi, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2004); Sea Images, Municipal Gallery, Ithaca, Greece (2004); Figurations, Center of Juridical Studies - K. Beys, Athens (2005); Figurations: Mythical Necklaces, Villa Rodopi, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2005); NebulaGraphics & Compositions, Lysippion, Corinth, Greece (2006); MultiForm Art, Gallery Aigokeros, Athens (2006); Nebula Lights & Memories, Villa Rodopi, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2006); NebulaGraphics and Column Capitals, Alex Marathianakis, Down Town Art Gallery, Athens (2007); Conceptual Anthemia, Villa Rodopi, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2007); Les Portraits et les Paysages Lettristes, Le Centre de Sevres, Paris (2007); Portraits et Torses Conceptuels, La Maison de la Grèce, Paris (2008); Scriptorium, Le Centre de Sèvres, Paris (2008); Depictions, Art Space Exombourgo, Tinos, Greece (2009); The Name Compositions, Villa Rodopi, Argostoli, Cephalonia (2009); Compositions and Forms, Monument Loutra Paradisos, Thessaloniki (2010); Conceptions et documents sous la lumière d'Attique, La Maison de la Grèce, Paris (2010); Figures and CloudLights, Municipal Gallery, Corfu, Greece (2010). He also presented Art Studio EST: 20 Years at the G. Gounaropoulos Museum in Athens in 2010.
The artworks of Costas Evangelatos in the ACG Art collection are owed to the kind donation of the artist in response to the curator's plea for the collection to have fine examples from every phase of his art. Four of his works - Branch [EvaC1977bran], Leaf [EvaC1977leaf], Conceptual Head [EvaC1987con] and Bodygraphic [EvaC1988body] - have originated in the Kimon Friar Bequest. Finally, it is important to mention here the generous gift by Evangelatos of artworks by 16 artists for their educational value - as much in terms of aesthetics as of technique - in the memory of his parents.
Costas Evangelatos is a member of the Cephalonian Society of Historical Research, the Heraldic and Genealogical Society of Greece, the Greek Byron Society, and the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece - EETE.
[Megakles Rogakos 11/2010]
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
LYDAKIS, STELIOS Portrait Variations 1984 Dada Art Gallery Editions, Athens
ALBUM Bodygraphics 1988 Dada Art Gallery Editions, Athens
VASSILOPOULOU, VIVI 13 Melanographics 1989 Photothiki Editions, Athens
ALBUM Bodygraphics 1990 BOA Editions Ltd, New York
CATALOG Costas Evangelatos 1993 Sylloges Editions, Athens
EVANGELATOS, COSTAS The Ideographic Chisel 1997 Sylloges Editions, Athens
STELIOS LYDAKIS; DORA MARKATOU; BIA PAPADOPOULOU; ALFRED A. POULIN Jr. Nebulagraphics and Complexes 1997 Editions Magna, Athens
CATALOG Costas Evangelatos: Scriptorium 2000 Argostoli Municipality Editions, Cephalonia
PETMEZAS, LEONTIOS Aesthetic of Costas Evangelatos 2001 Sylloges Editions, Athens
EVANGELATOS, COSTAS Portraits and Compositions in the Corgialenio Museum 2004 Artypos, Athens
MOSCHONAS, NIKOS G. Figurations of Costas Evangelatos 2005 Periplous Publications, Athens
CHRYSSANTHOS CHRISTOU / STELIOS LYDAKIS / ANITA PATSOURAKI Calendar 2008 Artline & Genesis, Thessaloniki
ADAM, MELITA The Soul's Primer 2010 Macart, Athens
C. CHRISTOU / C. EVANGELATOS / M. MOSCHONAS / C. PETRAKIS / A. PATSOURAKI Costas Evangelatos: Art EST 2011 Artline & Genesis, Thessaloniki
EVANGELATOS, COSTAS Transverse Flight: Poems & Sketches 2011 Editions Apopeira, Athens [Greek]
EVANGELATOS, COSTAS Chemins Enchevêtrés: Poèmes et Dessins 2012 Sylloges Editions, Athens [French]
