M HKA Ensembles

° 1950

Born in Athens (GR), lives in Athens (GR).

Costis

Costis studied Political Science at Athens University from 1968-1972 and Arts, Audiovisual Arts and Philosophy at the University of Paris VIII. He terminated his studies at doctorate level (under J.F. Lyotard). From 1974 till 1976, he serves as emeritus professor at the Universite Paris VIII, in the department of Philosophy-Psychoanalysis, under the direction of Francois Chatelet. He is a visual artist, poet and writer. He has also been involved with stage direction and was also the publisher of Lotus magazine (1968-1972), and Praxis (1972). He begins his artistic course at the end of the Sixties, presenting mostly black-and-white works with strong social cogitation. From the mid-Seventies his art turns towards abstraction at the same time that the artist turns towards Concept art. In 1976 he creates ‘Silence. The poem is found on the tape.’ - a work which signals his passing into the realm of visual poetry.

During the Eighties, via the collage series Mediassamblages (which he begins in 1983), but also with the work Liquidity solidified (which he starts in 1986), he presents a study on colour-concept. In 1989 he begins his series of labyrinthine installations, which depend on audience participation. In parallel to this series, from the mid-Eighties onwards he also uses high voltage electrical currents in order to create lightning bolts, which he captures in sculptures, murals or environments.

He has presented his work in solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad (Electric Field, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, 1995, Dans la lumiere de Costis, Palais du Tau, Reims, 2011, Thirty years of visual poetry, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, 2012 et al.). He has also participated in many symposiums and conferences on art, technology, poetry and new technologies.