Thanasis Totsikas

Born in 1951 to a farming family in Nikea, Larissa, Thanassis Totsikas is one of the leading artists to arise from the post-abstract scene in 1980s Greece. Totsikas briefly attended the Athens School of Fine Art and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, yet his ever-evolving practice grows from his self-taught experimentations across different media. Working across performance, sculpture, painting, drawing and photography, Totsikas’s projects take divergent aesthetic forms, yet ideas surrounding consumerism, nature, religion and sacred sites continue to inform each body of work. Past performances have seen Totsikas empty out the entirety of his belongings into a street in Larissa, or painting in various public spaces until forcibly removed by police. He’s painted large scale public murals, such as For Sylvia Plath 1982, which is populated with Shaman symbols and photographs of sacred places. Every day and natural materials are frequently incorporated into his works, such as reeds, mud or motorcycle parts. Totsikas is a skilled luthier, cutler and autobody-repair technician, and this practical skillset can readily be seen in his mechanical and precise sculptures. Following in the tradition of creatives such as Henry David Thoreau, Anselm Kiefer or Derek Jarman, Totsikas built his own creative oasis in the 1990s, two cottages in Mavrovouni, Larissa, one by the river and one by the sea where he continues his commitment to contemporary art.