Tsalamata Vicky (1948)

Born in Athens in 1948, she studied graphic design at the Athens Technological Institute (1966-1969) and went on to study painting, printmaking and mosaic at the Accademia di Belle Αrti in Bologna (1969-1973). She also attended classes of sculpture and art history until 1975, when she decided to devote herself to printmaking and do postgraduate studies at the Slade School of Fine Arts in London (1982-1983). At the same time she studied handmade paper techniques at the London College of Printing. Her first solo exhibition was held at the Slade School of fine Arts (London, 1983).
Her work is associated with research and experimentation around technical media, materials and methods of engraving and printing. After an initial focus on zinc etching she soon switched to copperplate and photoengraving when she attempted to introduce musical scores into her work (Musical landscapes, 1985). She went on to combine various media and printing techniques, with a special interest in colour, usually on patterned handmade paper. She creates variations of her compositions, proposing unique engravings in place of the current practice of multiples. In recent works, which are often large-scale, she employs materials like iron or cardboard treated with fire, and elsewhere she makes use of photography and digital technology. Her subjects include references to the Greek and global culture, the urban landscape, historic memories and symbols, all with conceptual undertones and an intensely poetic mood.
She teaches at the Athens School of Fine Arts since 1999, and is now a deputy professor, head of the 2nd Printmaking Workshop and head of the Engraving Dept.
She has presented her work in over twenty solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad and has participated in group shows and international events, including the 18th and 22nd Biennale of Alexandria (1994 and 2003) and various international biennial and triennial shows of printmaking. She has also attended international symposia and seminars and published articles in newspapers and magazines. Her work has received numerous awards and distinctions.
Works of hers can be found at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Museum of Belgrade, the Sakima Museum in Okinawa, Japan, the Museum of Graphic Arts in Egypt, the Municipal Gallery of Athens and in other public and private collections in Greece and abroad.