SOTIRIS SOROGAS

Sotiris Sorogas was born in Athens in 1936. By winning a scholarship, he attended the Athens School of Fine Arts (1957-1961) under professor G. Moralis. After studying hagiography at the same school, he received an I.K.Y. scholarship.

In 1958 he was awarded a Royal Institute Scholarship thanks to which he could attend courses of Byzantine, post-Byzantine and folk art. Again, in 1973, he won a scholarship from the Ford Foundation. With it, he was able to deepen his knowledge of contemporary art in the U.S.A, England, France and Italy. He later worked as assistant professor of drawing at the Department of Architecture of the Metsoveion National University. Sorogas is a founding member of the Hellenic Association of Contemporary Art and an editorial board member of “Speira” magazine.

He first exhibited in 1962 at the second Panhellenic exhibition for young artists and at the Italian Institute of Athens. In 1965, he was appointed curator at the headquarters freehand drawing and painting at the School of Architecture NTUA. His first solo exhibition took place in Athens, in 1972 and from then he set his mark on the Greek art landscape. In 2004 he was awarded by the Academy of Athens for his contribution to Art. Sotiris Sorogas’ art has absorbed what the Greek spirit has to offer in its long and rich history; at the same time it reaches out to a panhuman element that, eventually, transitions into a timeless realm. A

s professor D. Charitos notes: “Sorogas’ painting approaches the space of tragedy, […] that is why his themes are few, just as few are the actors in a tragic play”. His favourite themes are rocks, holes and rusted objects that express the artist’s protest against the fear of death, the fear of nothingness. These same elemental objects presuppose precise and clear lines. That’s why Sorogas locates them in front of a white background creating an original rendition of light that is minimalistic and illuminating at the same time.