The important Greek painter, engraver and sculptor Christos Sarakatsianos has passed away after a long illness. His funeral took place on Thursday 20 January at 1.00 pm from the 1st Cemetery, Agioi Theodoroi Church.

Biographical note

He was born in 1937 in Megali Gotista, Ioannina. His first teachers in art were the hagiographer George Kazakos and Panos Sarafianos. He then studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts, initially in the sculpture studio of Thanasis Aparte and then with Yannis Moralis, on a scholarship from the IKY. He also studied set design and decorative arts. He graduated in 1967. During the period 1967-1973 he travelled to various European countries where he visited museums and studied the movements of contemporary art. He also studied ancient Greek, Byzantine and folk art.

He presented his first solo exhibition in Athens (Artistic Cultural Centre “Ora”, 1982). In both his painting and engraving work, the main thematic element is the naked female body, while the male body is rarely found. In his painting he mostly uses acrylics and oils. The figures are sometimes depicted in fragments or with anatomical arbitrariness. They have vivid flat colours and clean shapes, predominated by curves. The figures are often accompanied by abstract elements with a strong geometric character, which define the background. The artist’s personal writing has been shaped by the assimilation of cubist, expressionist and surrealist elements, but also includes references to geometric abstraction, as well as to the pottery of antiquity. The content of his works mainly projects a reflection on the life phenomenon of fertility and death.

In his black and white prints we encounter a common theme and the same underlying codes that he uses in his painting. Particularly in his woodcuts he shows the hardness, the roughness but also the warmth that his material can give.

In the context of his broader artistic activity he has been involved in illustrating publications and editing publications. He was a founding member of the Chalcography Group (1977-1980) and was an active member of many art-related collectives.

He has held solo exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions in Greece and abroad (Italy, Belgium, Australia, Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Germany, Cyprus). His works can be found in museums and galleries (National Gallery, Vorres Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art – Andros, Municipal Gallery of Athens, National Bank of Greece, Municipal Gallery of Rhodes, Heraklion, etc.) as well as in private collections in Greece, Europe, America and Japan.