Spyros Stergiou. Art workshop

Spiros Stergiou – CV 

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         Dr Spiros J. Stergiou was born at Avlona Attikis in Greece. He studied painting under the Great master Yannis Tsarouhis. Further, he continued his studies at the Athens School of Fine Arts, (1986-1991), under P. Tetsis, D. Mytaras and Y. Valavanides and Sculpture under S. Valasakis. He received his PhD from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (faculty of Fine Arts), which was over a modern approach on traditional art.

         Currently he teaches psychology of the religious art, Theory and analysis of works of art, History and Technique of Hagiography, at the University of Athens Greece.

         During the last thirty years Spiros Stergiou he participated to several exhibitions worldwide i.e., Greece, Sweden, United States, England, France, Italy, etc, as well as in several group shows in Europe and U.S.A.

         Exhibitions which can be highlighted are: his exhibition under the title “Interiors” in Cyprus, at Nicosia Cultural Center (1992), at the art gallery “Bosch” (1993), at the “Creonidis Art Gallery” Athens (1995), at the “Rodiac Villa” Rhodes (1998), at the ‘’World Trade Centre’’ art gallery in Stockholm (1999), at the art gallery “Mall Galleries” in London (2000), at the ‘’United Nations’’ Art Gallery New York (2004), at the Art Gallery “Psycharis” in Athens (2007),  at “Papanikolaou” Foundation in Komotini (2015) and lately at the Beijing Biennale in China (2017). In 2022, his new work will be exhibited at ‘’Erarta’’ Galleries in Saint. Petersburg Russia. Βut due to the war it was cancelled.

1. Stergiou has been influenced not only from the contemporary European art but also from Pompeian styles, which are distinguished in ancient Roman mural painting. He has been awarded the art award several times, throughout Europe and he represents a modern artist who depicts with his dark and distinct earth colors a cultural view of the European agony.

         Works by Spiros Stergiou are to be found in ministries and other public places in Greece, as well as in many private collections in several countries. Sculpture works of his, decorate numerous public spaces too. For his works of art, Foreign and Greek art historians, have written extraordinary reviews and have made significant references. Meanwhile, his country’s media, have given to his work often special attention. 

About painting and art history, he has written seven monographs. He is a constant member of the Greek Chamber of Fine Arts.

By Venia Pastaka

Art Historian

From February 26th until the end of March, the Museum of the City of Athens hosts the exhibition of the painter Dr. Spyridon Stergiou entitled “Interiors“. This is a retrospective exhibition, which gives the viewer the opportunity to come into contact with the special work of an artist who does not just paint spaces and forms but is a creator who transforms light into matter and matter into spirit.

Born in Avlona, Attica, Dr. Spyros Stergiou initially studied under Yannis Tsarouchis and then at the Athens School of Fine Arts he studied under great teachers such as Panagiotis Tetsis, Dimitris Mytaras, and G. Valavanidis. At the same time, he also studied sculpture with S. Vassalakis and then completed his doctoral thesis at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Currently a professor at the University of Athens, he teaches Psychology of Religious Art, Theory and Analysis of Works of Art, History and Technique of Iconography. His work, deeply influenced by both the European painting tradition and the Pompian styles, draws its power from light, which functions not only as a visual medium but as a fundamental carrier of meaning.

If there is one emotion that permeates his painting, it is that elusive balance between serenity and quest. His spaces often feel like solitary retreats, places of contemplation where thought can wander freely. At other times, his works speak of man’s relationship with the built environment – railings, walls, floors, all forming a labyrinth, a “trap” from which the only way out is light. Even in his most realistic depictions, there is a transcendental dimension. Whether they are interior rooms or naked bodies, the light softens the lines, creating a sense of levitation, as if they belong to a dream world beyond our own.

Stergiou’s bodies are not only sensual, but also almost sacred, as their colour rendering seems to transform them into something higher than their material existence. His work is full of contrasts: darkness and light, confinement and freedom, realism and mystery. Yet through these contrasts, a sense of conflict is not created, but a harmony, a sweetness that invites the viewer to lose himself in the images. Stergiou belongs to those artists who do not limit themselves to an interpretation, to a specific meaning.

His works are open to the viewer’s gaze, functioning as mirrors where everyone can recognize something of their own – a memory, a desire, a sense of freedom or enclosure. Light is the element that defines his work. It functions not only as illumination, but as a living presence, changing the structure of volumes, evaporating surfaces and creating a sense of spirituality. In these interiors, dimensions seem to transcend their limits, and the atmosphere becomes almost ritualistic.

The painter, having numerous exhibitions in Greece and abroad, has managed to create a work with a unique artistic identity. His art does not simply depict but invites the viewer to an experience where matter dissolves and light reveals another dimension of the world.

Information

Museum of the City of Athens-Vouros-Eftaxias Foundation, Parnassou 2, Athens, Τ.2103231397, Daily (excluding Tuesdays): 09:00-16:00, Saturdays-Sundays: 10:00-15:00