Awareness: Nikos Gyftakis

Artist Nikos Gyftakis has a vast art education, and has studied Artistic Research at Konstfack University in Stockholm, Painting and Stage- setting Design at the School of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Music at the National Conservatory of Athens, Greece. Gyftakis’ work is primarily characterized by figurative paintings and mixed media. Most of these paintings are portraits, often very up close and expressive in pose. Gyftakis’ style is incredibly surreal, as he uses only lines as his mark, swirling and intertwining them into form using color and movement in position. I love these works so much, they really show so much expression and life. My favorite part might be the way that he crops in so closely on his figures to give an interesting and powerful composition that compliments the overall painting. I hope to incorporate this into my summer studies.