The kiss of the sea, 2005

Stavros Kotsireas studied painting, design, and engraving at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at The Hague, and then, at postgraduate level, stage set design and costume. In 1993, he settled in the UK, but has from time to time also exhibited his work in Greece. Landscapes in which experiences and memories which he has gained from his studies and travels are traced form the object of his artistic creation. With influences from Gaugin, the Fauves, and the 'Blue Rider' movement, he combines abstract types with representational motifs, in works which are produced in an expressionist mood and are marked by bright colours. The human figure is rarely depicted, and when it is, changes into an integral part of the landscape with which it is harmonised. His painting belongs within a climate and aesthetic of postmodernism and is reminiscent of childlike naivety. In his print-making, he exploits the black-white contrast to produce compositions based on the stylisation of the design, always in an expressionist style.