Nikolaidis Giorgos

He studied at the Physics and Mathematics School, University of Thessaloniki (1942-1945) and then sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1945-1950) with Michalis Tombros. He also attended open courses at Thanassis Apartis’s workshop. He became professor (1979-1991) and dean (1984-1989) at the Athens School of Fine Arts and member of the Board as well as of the Art Committee of the National Gallery, Athens, and member of “Omada A” [Group A], “Group for Communication and Education in Art” and the Societe Europeenne de Culture.

His work was presented in solo and numerous group exhibitions in Greece and other countries, including Panhellenic exhibitions, the Alexandria Biennale (1965 and 1978), the Salon de la Jeune Sculpture in Paris (1968 and 1969), the Europalia in Belgium (1982) and the “Metamorphoses of the Modern” at the National Gallery, Athens (1992).

In Giorgos Nikolaidis’s earliest works, the main subject is the human figure, rendered in a simplifying and abstract manner, evoking Geometric or Archaic art. During the 1960’s, he mainly worked in iron, approaching his work with lack of superficiality, developing in the 1970’s his personal vocabulary, and producing abstract works in stainless steel, combining cylindrical forms with sharp appendages, incorporating the void as an equal partner in the work, and evoking a ceaseless movement. From the 1980’s, his interest turned towards environment, resulting in environments with a sacred-ritual atmosphere in which the human figure plays a leading role.