Sorogas Sotiris
Sotiris Sorogas was born in Athens in 1936. He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1957-1961) under Yannis Moralis, funded by the Greek State Scholarship Foundation (I.K.Y.). He also attended the icon painting studio of ASFA since 1962, to familiarize himself with his long-term interest, Byzantine painting. His first solo exhibition was presented in Athens in 1972 (Athens Art Gallery-Hilton Hotel) and that same year he received an annual grant from the Ford Foundation.
His early works reveal affinities with the politicized photorealistic tendencies that appeared during the military junta in Greece (use of black and white photos, spots of red colour, etc). However, soon enough his choice of subjects revolved around a poetic approach to detriment and time. His painting utilizes drawing precision in often monochromatic and fragmentary compositions, where he develops lyrical, narrative elements through a discourse between space and objects. His thematic units (Horses, Black Holes, Women Portraits, Old Pieces of Wood, Rusted Objects, etc.) allude to human or historical memory through images which combine perceptive observation and structural adequacy.
He started teaching drawing at the Faculty of Architecture of the Athens National Technical University since 1964, at first as assistant to head professor of painting, Takis Marthas. Over time he became professor, and taught at NTUA until 2003 (professor emeritus since 2005).
He was member in many groups (i.e.: ASFA Graduates Union, Contemporary Art Association, Group for Communication and Education in Art). He was also member of the editorial committee of the art and theory journal Spira and a founding member of the Society for the Study of Greek Culture (2010). He participated in conferences, symposia and other cultural events. He frequently writes in magazines and newspapers and has published essays and books. Several monographs on his work have also been published.
He has presented his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. He represented Greece at the Biennale of Sao Paulo in 1981. He also participated in Europalia (Belgium, 1982) and the 21st International Festival of Painting (Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1989). In 2004 he was awarded by the Academy of Athens for his overall contribution to art. Six of his large compositions were placed at the Stathmos Larissis station of the Athens Metro in 2010. His retrospective exhibitions were organized in 2010 (Municipality of Trikala Cultural Organization and Makris Foundation, Trikala) and in 2011 (Benaki Museum).
