Untitled (Drawing I)

George Tsakiris was born in 1955 in Giannitsa, Greece. Initially, he studied at the Higher School of Electronics (1974-1977) and later attended the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, where he studied painting with F. Faruli and engraving with G. Vingiano. Upon his return to Greece in 1983, he divided his time between Athens and Thessaloniki while maintaining a studio at the foot of f Mount Paikos. In his painting and engraving, influences from the work of Francis Bacon are evident, and there are also elements of Greek and Latin script, numbers, and mathematical symbols forming words and phrases. He incorporates real objects into his compositions (ropes, tree trunks), which gradually lose their conventional shapes and become constructive units. During the 1980s, Tsakiris made a definitive transition to three-dimensional constructions, with his move to Mount Papiko being a significant factor in this shift. This period marked a series of interventions in outdoor spaces that were in perfect harmony with the natural environment, without disturbing its morphology or function. Through these interventions, the artist proposed a unique relationship between art and nature, allowing the public to perceive the artwork as a living presence rather than an artificial spectacle. In the 1990s, Tsakiris created artificial ecosystems within exhibition spaces, where living organisms were presented to the audience. This time, art was not transferred to the outdoors, but the natural processes were integrated into the gallery space.