Giorgos Sigalas | Routes – The Optimism of Remembrance

The exhibition of the Painter and Engraver Giorgos Sigalas hosts 19 oil paintings from the period 1984 - 1996. The exhibition follows a creative path taken by the painter from the realistic visual approach (in the exhibition we see four works) focusing on a subject, governed by clarity and bright light. The open clear surface pattern follows an internal period of creation. The works, now in relief on canvas, are characterized by dark, earthy colors and intense line shading that present compositions of objects. The works belong to the period when the Painter lived in Paris and gave them the general title: “The State of Things”. After his return to Athens and his move to the Atelier of Kifissia, the works he creates keep his search in relation to the objects that surround us as well as the situations. The works are made with oil paint in relief again on canvas, embellished with gold leaf expressing nostalgia and giving them the title “The Optimism of Remembrance”. Two works in the exhibition belong to this period and show the artist’s search in a more abstract expression, open to enigmatic search. Throughout the creative path he carves out with absolute sincerity, always open to searching for variations in the way of expression, influences from his birthplace Ai Stratis, a place of exile and a place marked by the great earthquake experienced in 1968, are recognized....more

Giorgos (Giorgis) Sigalas was born in 1954 in Ai Stratis where he lived for the first years of his life. Then, his family moved to Lemnos so that his older sister could attend high school. After some time, the family was forced to move again because in the humid climate of Lemnos he suffered from bronchial asthma and thus finished Primary and High School in Athens. Athens has always remained for him the base of his work and creation, to which he returned after his studies in Italy and France where he stayed until 2018 when he passed away. George had two sons from his marriage to Dafni Rea Daniela Tonges, Konstantinos and Ernestos, to whom he was completely devoted and passed on his love for art to them. In 1978 he obtained a Diploma in Painting in Florence, Italy. He then obtained in 1985 a DEA Philosophie d’Art and in 1988 a Nouveau Doctorat in arts and sciences from the University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne. His works have been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Italy, France and Greece. He has written visual educational books for primary and secondary education as well as more than 50 art history and teaching articles. His book titled “Cruel Time” with 79 poems and color drawings has also been published by Gavrielidis Publications. He was a visual arts teacher in secondary education, teaching at the University of Thessaly and the University of Athens. Afterwards he was a consultant to the Pedagogical Institute, the Institute of Educational Policy and the Ministry of the Ministry of Health. He was also a Member of the Greek Chamber of Visual Arts. [Biography updated on: 23/11/2023]