Kechagioglou Christos (1960)

Born in Thessaloniki in 1960, he studied civil engineering at the city's university and then film directing at the Hatzikos School in Athens. He continued with postgraduate studies in Philosophy of Art at the Universite Paris I - Sorbonne in Paris, studying the relationship between cinema and painting.
Predominantly a painter, he created works of small and large dimensions. His main source of inspiration is his surrounding world; he paints landscapes, seas, places both actual and imaginary. He presented his first solo exhibition at the Arts & Letters Club of Thessaloniki in 1981. In his early works he seems to depict space from high up, selecting and isolating a part of the endless whole. In the mid-2000s the landscape emerges through trees and natural motifs as a natural extension of the onlooker himself. The perspective condenses, close and remote objects merge, and the colours are bright. His recent, more abstract series of works the element of water dominates in landscapes that are fluid, non-realistic, conveying a dreamlike aspect with perceptibly less colour than before.
In parallel he has worked as art director and film director in cinema and advertising, and has created numerous experimental art films and video art projects, multimedia applications and installations which were presented at international film festivals (Thessaloniki 1985 & 1986, Munich 1985, Montecatini-Florence 1982).
He has shown his work in over 35 solo exhibitions in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Chania, Karditsa, Lemnos, Alexandroupolis, Santorini, etc.) and abroad, in Paris and Brussels. He has participated in dozens of group shows in Greece, France, Austria and Belgium. His works can be found in museums, galleries and private collections in Greece and abroad (National Gallery, Macedoniam Museum of Contemporary Art, Vorres Museum, Voyatzoglou Gallery, etc.).