Klouvatos Kostas

A pupil of Thanassis Apartis (1942-1954), he also collaborated with the sculptors Giorgos Zongolopoulos and Christos Kapralos. For a short period, he studied painting at Dimitrios Biskinis’s workshop in the Athens School of Fine Arts and attended free courses in history of art, painting and pottery. In 1950, he attended the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris. He became professor at the Athens Technological Institute (Doxiadis Technical School) and was founding member of “Omada Technis A” [Art Group A].

His work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions, including Panhellenic exhibitions, the 1957 Sao Paulo Biennale, where he received an honorary distinction, the 1959 Alexandria Biennale, where he won the bronze medal, and the “Panathenaia” exhibition of contemporary sculpture in Athens (1965). In 1985, a retrospective exhibition of his work was mounted in Evmaros Gallery in Athens.

Kostas Klouvatos began with a figurative approach, producing works which revolve around the human condition, using a realistic, but simplified treatment. In 1960, he began to adopt abstract forms and expressionistic elements, always with an eye to expressing his social ideas. In his most recent work, taking as his point of departure pre-classical and folk art, he combined elements from various periods of Greek tradition. The harmonious integration of volume and colour in space as well as the integration of art in daily life have also been recurring themes from his early career. He has also created set designs for the theatre as well as medals, and saw to establishing the first foundries in Greece.