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THEODOROS PAPADIMITRIOU / dit: THEODOROS (Greece, Agrinio b. 1931 / act: Athens) |
Theodoros Papadimitriou was born on 25 June 1931 in Agrinio of Aetoloakarnania, Greece. After graduating from high school in 1949 he left Agrinio, and succeeded in enrolling at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1952-1958). Following his studies and after completing his military service, he received a scholarship to further his studies at the École Supérieure Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1959-1962). He remained in France for years thereafter, where he presented various exhibitions and developed a reputation as a asculptor. Towards the end of the Greek military Junta of 1967-1974, he t aught art at the California State University, Hayward, USA. He returned to Post-Junta Greece and was appointed Professor of Sculpture at the Architecture School of the National Technical University of Athens - NTUA (1980-1998), becoming an Emeritus Professor in 2007.Theodoros has presented the following personal exhibitions and performances: Centre Culturel National, Aix-en-Provence, France (1965); Maison de la Culture, Amiens, France (1966); Theodoros Retrospective 1962-1968, New Gallery & Kennedy Hall, Athens (1969); Sculpture for Public Participation - Participation Prohibited, Studio of Contemporary Art, Goethe Institute, Athens (1970); Instead of a Sculpture, Desmos Gallery, Athens (1972); Sculpture = Touch + A Litle Taste, Desmos Gallery, Athens (1973); Manipulation I - For A Specator Alone & Manipulation II - On the Limits of Tolerance, International Design Conference,Aspen, U.S.A. (1973); Sculpture = Manipulations (Anti-Spectacular), Desmos Gallery, Athens (1974); Confronted Retrospectives 1963-1967 & 1968-1974, Institute Français, Thessaloniki (1975); Original Work of Sculpture - Without Quality, Without Message, Without Content & Manipulation II - On the Limits of Tolerance, Experimental Theatre (1976); Manipulation III, XIII, XV & Environment: Fragile - Non Fragile, Desmos Gallery, Athens (1977); Manipulation XXX, Nieuwe Kerk of Amsterdam (1981, 1982); Manipulation XXX, Palais Royal des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Europalia, Greece (1982); Journey's Marks - Traces of Touch, Objects 1953-1983, National Gallery - Alexander Soutzos Museum, Athens (1984); Environment - Fragile, Zoumboulakis Galery (1984); Re-Place - Re-Search, Saint-Georges Ramparts, Municipal Art Gallery, Rhodes (1986); Apocalypse Main-Tenant(e), Institute Français, Athens (1988); Balances, Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens (1990); Suspensions, Vellidion Art Center, Thessaloniki (1991); Art Fragile, Institute Français, Thessaloniki (1993); Caryatides, Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens (1994); Caryatides, Messe Basel Art Fair #26, Switzerland (1995); Atopa - Without Place, Art Forum-Vilka, Thessaloniki (1997); Metechmion, Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens (1999); Delphica, European Cultural Centre of Delphi & Festival in Drama (1999); Screens, Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens (2005); Re-Place - Re-Search II, Kronos Distillery, Municipality of Elefsina (2005).
Theodoros has also taken part in the following group exhibitions: Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Museum of Modern Art of Paris (1961-1966); Contemporary Sculpture, Havre Museum, France (1962); Salon de la Jeune Sculpture, Rodin Museum, Paris (1962-1968); Bienal de São Paulo, Brasil (1963); Biennale of Alexandria, Egypt (1963); Salon des Comparaisons, Museum of Modern Art, Paris (1964-1967); Panathinaea of International Sculpture, Philoppapos Hill, Athens (1965); La Main, Claude Bernard Gallery, Paris (1965); III Exhibition of International Sculpture, Rodin Museum, Paris (1966); Offerings Inatendus, J. Ranson Gallery (1966); Contemporary Greek Art, Rath Museum, Geneva (1967); L' Age du Jazz, Galliera Museum, Paris (1967); EXPO '67, Montreal, Canada (1967); Les Assiges du Siège Contemporain, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris 1969 (1968); Sculpture Exhibition, Centre Albert Camus, Tananarive, Madagascare (1969); Salon de Mai, Paris (1970); Manifestation-Exhibition: Hypothesis For a Museum of Contemporary Art, Desmos Gallery, Athens (1977); Myth & Reality: Manipulation I & Manipulation XIII, Expo Arte, Bari, Italy (1977); Greek Art, Warsaw, Poland & Budapest, Hungary (1977); Question Marks - Reference Points, Galleria Civica, Modena, Italy (1978); Jewel - Anti-Jewel, Ericson Gallery, New York (1978); Portrait of the Artist and Social Environment, Institute Français, Athens (1978); Art Exhibition, Dracos Art Center, Athens (1985); Pandora's Box, Gallery 3, Athens (1986); Art Symposium, Minos Beach, Crete (1988); Sphinx II (1965), placed in the Olympic Sculpture Park, Seoul (1988); Idioms of Contemporary Sculpture, Sommacampagna, Verona, Italy (1989); La Pietra e i Luoghi, Bitonto, Puglia, Italy (1990); Les Couleurs de l' Argent, Musée de la Poste, Paris (1991); Sanat - Techne, Mimar Sinan University Museum, Instabul (1992); Metamorphoses of the Modern, National Gallery, Athens (1992); Sympetra: Symposium of Sculpture, Antonio Duarte Museum, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal (1992); Dialogues, Palais d' Iena, Paris (1993); The Tree, Averoff Gallery, Metsovo, Greece & Contemporary Art Center, Nicosia, Cyprus (1993); 42ème Salon d' Art Contemporain, Montrouge, Paris (1997); Open: International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations, Lido, Italy (1999); Athens by Art, AICA Hellas & Municipality of Athens (2004).
Theodoros has also been commissioned to create the following installations: Metal Composition for a Bank, Athens (1971); Fontaine for a group of Schools, France (1973); Metal Composition for a Bank, Volos , Greece (1976); Columbus- Egg for a Hotel, Athens (1983); Scenery-Environment for the Euripidis' Tragedy "Phoenicien Women" in the Ancient Theater of Epidavros (1983); Sculpture-Trophy for European Awards for Improved Environment in Industry, European Commission (1987); Horizon I for the house of the Architect I. Gounaropoulos, Skinias, Marathon , Greece (1988); Twelve Spoked Wheel on Cables Counterbalanced by a Sphere for the technical & scientific exhibition "Eurometrics", Athens (1993); Olympic Diptych on the façade of the building of the Olympic Committee in Athens (1996); The Metro Clock in the main hall of the Syntagma Metro Station, Athens (2001); Clepsydra '00 in front of the Town Hall of Amaroussion Greece (2002); and Rising Index for the new building of Athens Stock Exchange (2007).
Theodoros has received the following awards and grants: Prix Rodin, IV Biennale of Paris (1965); First Prize of Sculpture, House of Fine Arts, Athens (1966); Ford Foundation Grant (1972); I.B.M. Fellowship for the International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado, U.S.A. (1973); Grand Prix au 42ème Salon d' Art Contemporain, Montrouge, Paris (1997).
Theodoros' artworks are kept by prestigious Greek institutions, such as The American College of Greece and the National Gallery - Alexandros Soutzos Museum in Athens. He currently lives and works in Athens.
[Megakles 03/2008]
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
THEODOROS A Sculptor in the Market Place 1981 Ypsilon Editions, Athens
THEODOROS Journey's Marks: Traces on the Sand of Works 1984 Estia, Athens
THEODOROS Traces1988 Kastaniotis Editions, Athens
THEODOROS A Sculptor On Air 1989 Ypsilon Editions, Athens
THEODOROS Re-Occupation 1992 Ypsilon Editions, Athens
THEODOROS Logoi 1994 Egokeros Editions, Athens
