Biography
The Naxian-born sculptor, Kostas Klouvatos, was born in Athens and was a student of Thanasis Apartis (1899-1972) from 1942 to 1954.[1] He pursued free studies in painting, ceramics, and art history, and briefly attended the workshop of Dimitrios Biskinis (1891-1947) at the Athens School of Fine Arts. In 1950, he studied at the renowned Grande Chaumière Academy in Paris. In 1956, he learned metal casting in Florence. He was also involved in graphic arts, set design, costume design, medal fabrication, and teaching (at the Athens Technological Institute).[2] Klouvatos is a pioneer of metal casting in modern Greece, utilizing the ancient technique of lost wax casting and establishing the first artistic foundry in the country.[3] He also introduced spatial design, shaping squares (like Politia) and hotel spaces (such as Hydra Beach, Xenia Nafplio), and he worked in America.[4] He maintained his first workshop at 10 Kosmas Balanos Street in Mets. He collaborated closely with sculptors Giorgos Zongolopoulos and Christos Kapralos, particularly with the latter, in whose workshop he organized the first domestic foundry with Nikos Kerlis in 1956. This was moved to Ilioupoli in 1957, where he had Spyros Karkadoulias as an assistant. Klouvatos was a founding member of the “Friends of Bouzianis” (1959) and the artistic and intellectual movement “Athmonio Theatre,” alongside the late Giannis Tsarouchis. In 1961, he was part of the core group of artists (including Giannis Chainis, Panos Sarafianos, Nestoras Papanikopoulos, among others) who formed “Art Group A,” aiming to connect the broader public with contemporary art movements by organizing artistic events in working-class neighborhoods and hosting Sunday discussions as part of these exhibitions.[5] According to Eleni Vakalo, although this group ceased its activities early due to the military junta in 1967, it served as a model for similar movements that followed.[6] Finally, in 1961, Klouvatos collaborated with the Karkadoulis brothers to set up Christos Kapralos’s foundry in Koukaki, where Kapralos cast works representing Greece at the Venice Biennale in 1962.[7] In the late 1960s, he settled in Marousi, behind the Dilaveri estate. In the 1970s, he spent six years in Sitia, Crete, before returning to Marousi. He passed away on May 21, 2007, and was buried in Elefsina.[8]
Kostas Klouvatos first presented his work in 1952 at the 4th “Panhellenic” exhibition at Zappeion. That same year, he completed a relief portrait of Theofilos Kairis made from porous stone, which was installed in the courtyard of the Municipal School (Old Kairios School) in Andros, as well as his first monumental sculpture in a public space (the Memorial for Victims of Occupation in Kefalovryso, Epirus). In 1954, he gained recognition for his work exhibited in the group show “Painters and Sculptors” at Zappeion, and he installed the Heroon for the Fallen at the first square of Psychiko. In 1956, he completed one of the most significant public sculptures of the period, the Heroon of the Greek Minor Asia and the Labor Monument, in what was then the Analypsis Square (now D. Varoutidis Square) in Vyronas. This work was a donation from the Greek-American Michalis Laskaris, son of Klemes Laskaris, a refugee from Smyrna, who initially worked as a builder and later as a contractor in the construction of many homes in the neighborhood.
Angelos Prokopiou emphasized in Kathimerini of the time: “For the first time, we have a monument in Greece with representations that detach from a relief or small pedestal to move freely in the broader space with autonomy, forming a composition that develops and evolves in the three dimensions of the outdoors (…) It represents the first protest against the necrophilia of our local sculpture.”[9] During the seven-year junta, the monument was destroyed overnight, and its sculptures vanished, only for three bronze builders to be rediscovered three years before the creator’s death.[10] In 1956, he participated in the Greek exhibition in Sweden. In 1957, he was awarded a gold medal for a bronze head at the Moscow exhibition and received an honorary distinction at the São Paulo Biennale. In 1959, he was granted a bronze medal for a mask at the Alexandria Biennale. In 1960, he organized his first solo exhibition at the “New Forms” Gallery in Athens and participated in the 6th Panhellenic Exhibition. In 1962, he took part in the group exhibition “Peace and Life” at the Zygos Gallery and in 1964 in “Modern Art in Greece” at the “New Forms” Gallery. That same year, he served on the jury for the 3rd Nationwide Exhibition of Youth. In 1965, he participated in the first International Sculpture Biennale organized by EOT, “Panathenea of Contemporary Sculpture,” on the Hill of the Muses (Filopappou), and organized his second solo exhibition at “New Forms.” In 1966, he participated in the group exhibition “3rd Small Form” at the “Merlin” gallery and took part in the 1st Sculpture Biennale in Filothei. In 1967, he joined the group exhibition of the “a” art movement (Spiritual Union Club, Nikaia). In 1985, he organized a retrospective exhibition at the Evmaros art space in Athens. In 1995, he played a leading role in transforming abandoned factory buildings in Eleusina into an art center. In 1997, he created the Monument to the Unknown Passerby in Eleusis. Among his last sculpture exhibitions was one at the “Zachariou” Hall in 2004. Notable public sculptures he created include the Teacher’s Monument in Chios, the Monument in Kokkinara Square, the Monument for the socialist-revolutionary Stavros Kallergis in Workers’ May Day Square, Kato Petralona (1985), the bust of Spyros Louis (Olympic Stadium), the Ioannidis Monument (Lithines, Crete), the monument in Pelopio, Olympia, the Memorial for the Fallen in Filiates, Epirus, the relief in a playground in Filothei, the monument for fighter Nikos Ploumbidis in Dafni, the Pontian Monument in Ilioupoli, the bronze bust of Sarantis Karoutsos, a student activist killed in the Civil War in Raches Ikaria, the landscaping of the Elefsina Town Hall courtyard (1996), a mural composition in the same Town Hall, and a monumental statue of Persephone at the Old Olive Mill of the city (1997), as well as a fountain-sculpture composition themed on wine production in Markopoulo Square and the bust of Tsarouchis at the entrance of the Marousi Town Hall. The last monument of Resistance by K. Klouvatos, erected in 2006 at the site of sacrifice, is the Monument of the Battle of Pyli, Derbenochoria. He also created portraits of George Bouzianis, Giannis Goudelis, Kitsos Macris, Aristidis Methenitis, and others. Additionally, he produced many medals (Cultural Center of the Municipality of Zografou 1985, Organizing Committee of Aischylia Elefsina 1975 and 1979, Protection of the Acropolis 1977, Athletic Association Spyros Louis 1986, etc.). His works are in the National Gallery, the Municipal Collection of Art Works in Elefsina, and many private collections.
The work of Kostas Klouvatos operates on the borders of representationalism, highlighting universal human values through a sculptural proposal that communicates with both pre-classical sources of sculpture and the modern expressionist trend that emerged in 20th-century Europe. He studied realistic sculpture under Thanasis Apartis, with a notable example being his groundbreaking sculpture dedicated to labor in Vyronas, as well as “the virtues of the monumental sculpture of the Egyptians,” as Angelos Prokopiou observes, while giving complete forms that, being freely designed, seem endless.[11] He demonstrates remarkable talent in “capturing the character of a space,” as emphasized by G. Petris, utilizing it both architecturally and sculpturally, following the model of ancient Greek sculptures.[12] He works with all materials (stone, marble, glass, wood, metal, clay), without being limited to detail when it does not serve the plasticity of the art. As he himself states, “my great passion is stone.”[13] The sources of his art encompass a wide range, allowing him to achieve greater immediacy and closeness with his audience: “I believe one can derive many lessons from Cycladic sculptures, the Kouroi, Olympia, bronzes, folk art, and even from nature itself, which stands so fertile if one allows it to influence them without subjugating them.”[14] He will also firmly defend the spiritual significance of artistic work, emphasizing: “What is needed is cultivation. The means for cultivation are abundant, and we can find ways if we approach this irrevocable need with the proper understanding.”[15] In any case, he remains distant from the circuit of galleries and art dealers, believing that spiritual elevation will come only through a comprehensive education of the people and the alignment of life with art, remaining faithful to the model of the ancient Greek artisan who created their masterpieces within the social context and always in harmony with it: “I believe that the revelation of a complete blossoming of Art in our land will come from the depths of the people. This is because I believe that there lies the path of a life that birthed the dream and the imagination of the soul of our race, from the need to find the most fertile and benevolent spiritual function that brings it into harmony with the surrounding nature and its existence.”[16]
Anestis Melidonis
Art Historian
Scientific Collaborator of the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation
[1] Alexandros Xydis will emphasize the existence of private schools during this period, parallel to the more conservative direction of the Athens School of Fine Arts, with notable independent figures like Tsarouchis in painting and Apartis in sculpture. He notes (History of Modern Greek Art. Volume A: Formation – Evolution, Athens 1976, p. 231): “The private, unofficial teaching provided by Tsarouchis to painters and Apartis to sculptors was a formative force for Greek art.”
[2] Giannis Bolis, “Three Artists from Naxos: Grigoris Zevgolis – Kostas Klouvatos – Georgios Polykratis,” Naxos. Sailing Through Time, Municipality of Naxos 2006, p. 548.
[3] Iliana Mortoglou, “A Beautiful and True Work. Forty days have passed since the death of Kostas Klouvatos,” Rizospastis, 24/6/2007, p. 4.
[4] See D. [ora] M. [arkatos], “Klouvatos, Kostas,” Dictionary of Greek Artists, Vol. 2, ed. Evgenios D. Matthaiopoulos, Athens 2000, p. 214.
[5] Kostas Kouloufakos, Art Review, June 1962, p. 758.
[6] Eleni Vakalo, Abstraction. The Character of Post-War Art in Greece, Athens 1981, p. 55.
[7] See Spyros Moschonas, “Kostas Klouvatos,” in The Sculptor’s Workshop, April-September 2022, MOMUs-Alex Mylonas Museum, Athens, p. 171.
[8] Klouvatos never received a pension or any state assistance, like many artists who made significant contributions but did not meet the unreasonable criteria set by the law (see “Ongoing Crime by ND and PASOK,” Rizospastis, 24/6/2007, p. 4).
[9] Angelos Prokopiou, “Art Critical Notes. The Monument of Labor,” Kathimerini, 18/5/1956, p. 2.
[10] H. Mortoglou, ibid.
[11] Angelos Prokopiou, History of Art 1750-1950, Vol. B: Romanticism – Realism – Impressionism, Athens 1969, pp. 451-453.
[12] See G. Petris, “Four Sculptures by Kostas Klouvatos,” Art Review, March 1963, p. 252.
[13] The same, “A Conversation with K. Klouvatos,” Art Review, November-December 1959, p. 207.
[14] Ibid., p. 211.
[15] Kostas Klouvatos, in Art Review, March 1955, no. 3, p. 223.
[16] Ibid.