Nikos Sarlis
Painter, Sculptor
Nikolaos Sarlis was born in Athens in 1988. He studied painting at Athens School of Fine Arts (under the supervision of T. Christakis and Zafos Xagoraris), and graduated with distinction in 2013. He then followed the postgraduate program in Visual Arts at Athens School of Fine Arts (2013-2015)(under the supervision of Zafos Xagoraris). He has also attended courses at the Department of Physics at the Kapodistrian University of Athens (2006-08). In 2011, he attended for one academic semester the MA Painting Course at the Department of Arts Plastiques of the University Paris 8, under an Erasmus scholarship from the Hellenic State Scholarship Foundation. His work also involves the composition and production of music. On March 20th of 2018 he had first solo show at Gallery 7 in Kolonaki.In 2018 he was accepted to study contemporary music composition at the National Theater of Greece
Exhibitions
2019
- Mykonos biennale APATHIA
- Group exhibition Italian embassy
- Group exhibition Numismatic Museum of Athens
- Group exhibition Backspace artist run space
- Group exhibition Municipal art Gallery Heraklion,Crete
- Live performance of an original music composition at the national theater of Greece
2018
- 1st solo exhibition “Distortion, Delay & Reverb” at Gallery 7 Kolonaki, Athens
2017
- Domestic Matter /group exhibition
2015
- Dipola group exhibition Municipal Gallery of Athens
- Master’s degree show at Athens school of fine arts
2013
- bachelor’s degree show at Athens school of fine arts
2010
- Group exhibition 100 years Panathinaikos (2nd award)
Artist’s Statement
Paper processed in a special way imitates ancient monuments, methods of camouflage and debris. The shading of these folds works independently of natural light, resulting in visual illusions about the weight and position of the figures in space. Thus, the same work may refer to a chiton taken from the friezes of Parthenon or to an aerial photograph of the moon’s surface. Painted folds can be seen as a complete, autonomous image but also as a fragment of a digital image. A continuous Trompe-l’œil is created and the viewing mode is changed without the possibility of finalizing the process of seeing.
I work “by hand” in the digital age, but I retain the need to converse with the modern age and be a part of it. Ambiguity plays a central role in my work. The ambiguity concerns the material, the means I use. So, although it is a purely handmade work, I am interested in it not being clear to the viewer if digital media, some kind of printing and photocopying have been used.
Reading art history in an idiosyncratic way, I draw elements from the grand masters, considering them relevant. So the boundaries between old and new, digital and traditional media, are blurred. In my work I try to unify all the elements that I draw from different sources, reflecting my personal view on the history of art.
Available Artworks
