Nikos Vavatsis

Princess of the dawn

2022

Nikos Vavatsis, born in 1970 in Thessaloniki, Greece, is a painter known for his emotive, anthropocentric artworks. Early on, Vavatsis recognized his desire to pursue a career centered around his passion for art, feeling fortunate to be able to do what he loves. After studying graphic arts in the late 1980s, he launched a diverse artistic career that includes public murals, set design, and mixed-media illustrations. His work has been exhibited widely, with 15 solo exhibitions and numerous group shows, and can be found in private and institutional collections. Since 2012, Vavatsis has focused on human-centric portraits, exploring the emotional depth behind each face. His distinctive technique captures the “blurry realm of emotion” rather than merely rendering physical features, as he seeks to portray the complex inner life of his subjects. “Every face is unique, but its uniqueness is more evident in the emotion it expresses than in its lines,” he says. Art historian Elli Kokkini-Kaplani notes that Vavatsis’s figures, sometimes genderless, convey an “explosive complexity of vibrations” beneath the surface, achieving a cathartic resonance. In recent years, Vavatsis’s work has expanded into book art. In 2021, his artwork was chosen for the Greek edition of *On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous* by Ocean Vuong, marking his first collaboration with Gutenberg Publishing. Though currently focused on portraiture, he anticipates revisiting urban landscapes, a recurring source of inspiration.