Born in Athens in 1964, he studied Sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1983-1988) under Dimitris Kalamaras and Vassilis Papaioannou. He furthered his studies on a Greek state scholarship (1992-1995). He is a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece. In 2009 he made the “Niki” award commissioned by the Athens Information Technology University. Sculptures by him can be found in public spaces such as the War Heroes Monument in the central square of Sparta and the “Monument to the Seafarer’s Wife” in Galaxidi, as well as the bust of Nikos Vernikos Eugenides in the island of Sifnos. Ananidas has been awarded prizes in sculpture competitions all over Greece since 2005. His works can be found in private collections. He lives and works in Athens.
Costas Ananidas
Works
Solo Exhibitions
2024
dialogue (2) •
in collaboration with Giannis Koutroulis•
K4 •
Athens•
2012
Imar Gallery•
Mykonos•
2011
Imar Gallery•
Mykonos•
2010
Ekfrasi – Yianna Grammatopoulou Gallery•
Athens•
2005
Ekfrasi – Yianna Grammatopoulou Gallery•
Athens•
2001
Ekfrasi – Yianna Grammatopoulou Gallery•
Glyfada•
1994
Maria Papadopoulou Gallery•
Athens•
2024
2012
2011
2010
2005
2001
1994
Press
Costas Ananidas
Costas Ananidas’s sculpture is primarily anthropocentric and draws on traditional themes. In his work the world of antiquity co-exists with the modern world: the artist is very fond of portraying mythological archetypes, such as Prometheus, Atlas, the anonymous Spartan warrior, but he is also engaged with the male and female nude, with the figure of the pregnant woman, the bust, and more recently, with the representation of horses. He has also constructed big-scale public art, such as the “Monument to the Seafarer’s Wife”, which is installed in the historic town of Galaxidi. He draws his subject in great detail and in 1:1 scale, using ink, watercolour or pencil, thus developing a very close relationship with his model. The drawings of male and female nudes in different attitudes or his studies of horses in movement impress us for the sensitivity they reveal alongside their perfection, which points to the patience and devotion of their creator.
Ananidas’s sculpture can be characterized as ‘classical’: the artist is mainly concerned with plasticity, the power of expression, the internal force of form in its relation to space and the viewer. He has studied in depth the sculpture not only of the ancient Greeks and Romans but also that of the Renaissance, following the advice of his master, Dimitris Kalamaras. After a period in which the moulding of the surface had the texture of a relief, Ananidas arrived at a representational mode distinguished by calmness and interior power. His sculpting is ‘built’ upon a centre without particular projections, the light simply pouring over the form without creating intense shadings. In some works, introversion, stillness and silence dominate, while others, inspired by subjects deriving from antiquity, are distinguished by a slow and controlled movement.
Ananidas’s sculpture is inextricably related with his drawings and painting: he himself admits that the whole technical process forms part of his work. Quality, proportion, harmony and order, which have always been regarded as classical or academic features in art, also make up, in an entirely contemporary way, however, his own personal signature.
Melita Emmanuel Professor of Art History, School of Architecture National Technical University of Athens