George Lappas

He was born in 1950 in Cairo, Egypt. In 1958 his family was forced to leave Egypt and settle in Athens, because the Nasser regime was persecuting the Greek element.
He studied psychology at Reed College, Portland (U.S.A.) and worked in several psychiatric institutions as a volunteer.
In 1974 he went to India on a T.J. Watson Foundation grant, where he studied the architecture of indian temples. In 1975 he went to London to study architecture at the Architectural Association School and then he studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts, under Y. Pappas and G. Nikolaidis (1977-82). He continued his art studies at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris on a French state scholarship (1984-85). By then, his first solo exhibition had already been presented in Athens (Zoumboulakis gallery, 1981).
His work includes sculptures, constructions and installations, usually large, which explore the relationship between sculpture and space, as well as the viewer-artwork communication. Remodeling of architectural environments dominates his early installations: Three-dimensional constructions of various materials, which can be rearranged in different ways, in order to render a sense of motion and volatility. This sense is fortified by the rules of randomness at play (Mappemonde, Dice).
A shift in his choice of subjects will mark the ‘90s, during which he will produce the most popular section of his work. This phase is dominated by the human figure and the bright red colour. The figures whether single or in groups, are usually life-size, often fragmentary or made by assembled parts, in order to be able to reshape constantly. Those constructions, reminiscent of statues and mechanical devices at the same time, challenge the static nature of sculpture with their extensive potential for transformation (The Bourgeois).
He travelled and worked in many countries in Europe, Asia and America. He has been teaching sculpture at ASFA, since 1992.
He has presented solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad (Glasgow, Florence, Brussels, Munich, New York, etc.). He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. In 1982 he participated in the Young Artists Biennale (Paris) and in Europalia (Belgium). He participated in the Biennale of Sao Paulo (1987) and in the Aperto of the 1988 Venice Biennale. He has officially represented Greece twice: In 1990 (Venice Biennale, together with Y. Bouteas) and in 1995 (1st Biennale of Gwangju, Korea).
His monograph was published in 2005 (Futura publications), as part of his exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Rethymno, Crete.