I sat down to write something about myself and my work and the very beginning in an unstable, shameful as well as ridiculous time came to light, as important. Maybe it is time to write more about those years when Greece sunk in a compulsory tidiness, then woke up with the nostalgia of a lost path before surrendering to the lustrous promises of the life style. All this of course will come connected with a personal art story. For the moment, a basic text:
The blog artB is created and maintained by Sofia Kapnissi, an artist interested in under the surface and between the lines findings. Born in Athens, Greece, one year before the dictators subverted the country; grew up in the center of a city where all the important matters had to be said in secret and while covered by a conservative good family image. At the age of 17 she started her artistic training at a fine arts preparatory school and two years later passed the exams for the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1985 – 1990). In 1991 she went to the Netherlands to continue her artistic development, later also with a NUFFIC scholarship. She shares the years since then between the Netherlands and Greece, organizing and participating in exhibitions. She has been one of the founding members of the group Gaidaro which from 1999 presents projects advocating for non conventionalism in the arts and self sufficiency of the artists. Painting is always her reference point, but her work expands to other means and materials like engraving, video, photography and textile. In her work there is an element of rebellion against all compromises in the art practice and the dominating hypocrisy, to such an extent, that she goes to the other end, breaking everything that can embellish art creation, including her own career.
artB 