° 1970

Born in Kreta (GR), lives in Athens (GR).

Ilias Papailiakis

Studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1990-1996), workshop of Rena Papaspyrou. Via his artistic practice, he consistently explores the progress of the image in western civilization “as a symbol but also as a sign” in order to finally understand the collective behavior “which creates an image and which is created from an image”. He chooses known works of western art and he readdresses them via the use of academic drawing but also via contemporary means connected with computer-aided image-making, advertising, cinema and television. He removes details from the initial narrative, aiming to create literary associations. He changes the original meaning of the works, thus examining subjects which connect with iconography, symbolism, the structural mechanics of the image, the process of engaging with it and its association with contemporary reality.

He has presented his work internationally, in solo and group exhibitions (Venice Biennale, 2001, Ilias Papailiakis 1998-2001, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, 2001, Cetinje Biennale, Montenegro 2002, Breakthrough! Grecia 2004: Perspectives on Contemporary Art, Madrid, 2004, et al.).