The sunlight streaming through the windows gives a bizarre cast to the lofty studio, which is crowded with tall, totem-like figures that resemble ancient deities, gigantic cultic figures, majestic priestly sculptures made of colored polyester and pole-like pieces of iron and wood. Every flat surface in the room seems likewise covered with armies of small terracotta figures, almost in juxtaposition – figures of warriors, idols, mothers and everyday people. There are also models for statues and busts, masks and reliefs. Figures in standing or seated position, of every dimension, are packed onto shelves, on the floor, everywhere. And in the midst of this “crowd,” his “crowd,” stands the figure of sculptor Theodoros Papagiannis, smiling and tranquil. We had initially agreed to meet at a nearby taverna in the northern Athens suburb of Metamorfosi, but since his studio was “just up the road,” we decided to make a quick stop there first.
“After 40 years of hard work, I’m having my fun now,” he says. The part about the hard work being over is not quite true. After 39 years spent teaching at the Athens School of Fine Arts, the 84-year-old artist founded a modern art museum in his native village of Elliniko in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, where he not only creates and shows his own work, but also organizes a plethora of educational and other activities. We see a half-finished model of a Pegasus sculpture intended for a square in the town of Arta. Just a few days ago, a statue he created of business magnate Aristotle Onassis was unveiled beside the historic “Mount Olympus” Boeing 727 in Olympic Airways Square at Elliniko on Athens’ southern coast. He is also organizing a group exhibition featuring around 20 of his most prominent students at the capital’s Sianti Gallery, not to mention a solo show on the island of Syros.
