Chryssikopoulos Stathis (1945 - 2023)

Born in Patra in 1945, he apprentice himself to the Painter S Sokaris before going to Florence to study architecture and history of art. In Italy, where he lived from 1966 to 1975, he came into contact with the movement of Visual Poetry, and went on to collaborate with various groups of the movement.
He develops a multifaceted oeuvre which reflect his capacities as both visual artist and architect: painting, visual poetry, constructions and audiovisual environments create compositions inspired by Greek and Roman myths and demonstrating a deep knowledge of and respect for ancient civilisation as well as acritical approach to the contemporary world (Myth, Galerie Artio 1986). In the exhibition Mother Nature-Still Life of 2006 (Anglican Church, Patra) he presented an audiovisual installation in collaboration with the music technologist Philon Lambrou, with multiple symbolisms on nature and man’s relation to it, inviting viewers to reconnect with nature from which he has essentially grown apart. In 2016 the Archaeological Museum of Patra hosted his retrospective exhibition Visual Poetry.
He has presented his work in over 20 solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad, and has participated in dozens of group and international shows with the movement of Visual Poetry: Vision: Mostra Internazionale di Poesia Visiva, (Ferrara 1982), Post-art: international exhibition of visual/experimental poetry (San Diego-Calexico 1988), V International Biennial Poesia Visual (Mexico, 1996), This is a poem. Visual Poetry Group 1981-2011 (NMCA, 2012). His works can be found in the Sackner Archive (Miami, Florida), the Museum of Visual Poetry (Senigallia), the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the interactive gallery Bongiani Ophen Art Museum (Salerno), the Benetton Museum (Triviso) and in private collections.