George Stamatakis

George Stamatakis was born in Heraklion, Crete, in 1979. The unique, stark landscapes of his Mediterra- nean homeland have been recurring features in his work, which focuses on environmental issues. All the while, he has envisioned penetrating images of the future. George has a degree in Economics from the University of West Attica and also studied Journalism and Media. In 2013, he enrolled in the Painting Department of the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA). Since 2016, he has represented the ASFA at AUEB’s (Athens University of Business & Economics) as researcher in the Art and Education program. While still at ASFA, George was introduced to the Japanese art scene by an interna- tional student exchange program at Tokyo University of the Arts (GEIDAI), where he studied. Obtaining a scholarship from the Japan Student Services Organiza- tion (JASSO), he became a member of Shinji Ohmaki’s Sculpture Lab, and in February 2019, held a one-person exhibition at K Gallery, Ginza, Tokyo. George has extensive exhibition experience: his first one-person show took place in May 2015 at the Semio Theatre in Athens, Greece; his second, in 2018, at the Art-Thessaloniki art fair, was presented by Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center. The gallery has represented him since. He has also participated in the 8th and 9th Biennials held by the Greek Schools of Fine Art and in Documenta 14 as a member of the Elective Affinities educational program, taking part as a young artist. He has shown his work alongside artists such as Jannis Kounellis, Takis, Lucas Samaras, Per Barclay, Sophie Tottie, Flad Wolfgang, and in venues such as the Gyeongmin Museum of Contemporary Art (Uijeongbu, S. Korea), the Yeni Mosque Museum (Thessaloniki, Greece), and the Charlie Smith Gallery (London, UK) — to name a few. In 2020 he presented his first project as a graduate artist, The Color of Phenomenon, at the Sumida Hokusai Museum, followed in 2021 by Overtone at the Logos Customs House and The Color of Phenom- enon at the Logos School on Paxos Island, Greece, curated by Alessandra Pace. His latest project, Atmo- sphere, is presented at Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center in Athens, and at Valentina Bonomo Gallery in Rome, in October 2021. Alexandros Diamandis, art historian and theatre director