Patsoglou Aristidis (1941)

Born in Lesbos in 1941, he apprenticed himself to sculptor Th. Apartis (1962-1965), and went on to study at the ASFA (1965-1969) under Y. Pappas. In 1969 he moved to Paris and continued his studies at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (1970-1974) under the sculptors César and Collamarini and the printmakers Robert Cami and Jacques Lagrange. He also attended classes of plastic arts, art science and audiovisual techniques at Paris VIII (1974-1979). In 1983 he had his first solo exhibition in Athens (Nees Morfes), at a time when he was already working in both France and Greece.
His main activity is sculpture, with printmaking and, to a lesser degree, painting also having an important place in his work. He developed from the outset a personal style which attests to his familiarity with contemporary trends as well as his close affinity with ancient Greek forms. With tangible reality as his starting point, he emphasises the human figure and the nude body and focuses on rendering motion, in subjects with frequent mythological or historical connotations. The distinctly schematised forms highlight their plastic values and the expressionistic atmosphere of the works.
In his monumental projects he is interested in the work’s relationship with space and light. He exploits the expressive potential of his materials (iron bars, sheet metal, bronze, steel), leaving the traces of their processing visible.
In painting and printmaking he combines representational and abstract elements. He handles skilfully the tones of grey in etching and drypoint, while colour plays a key role in his lithographs and woodcuts as well as in painting.
He joined another 50 artists in forming the Logos group and organised exhibitions in France and elsewhere (1981-1986).
He has presented his work in over 40 solo exhibitions and has participated in group shows in Greece and abroad. He has received many awards and distinctions, mainly in France and Canada, and many of his works are in public spaces as well as in public and private collections such as the National Bank of Greece Collection, the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Québec, etc.