Kelaidis Vasilis (1938)

He was born in Chania, Crete in 1938. He studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts on a grant by the State Scholarship Foundation (IKY), painting under Andreas Georgiadis and mosaic under Eleni Voila. In 1967 he traveled to Europe on a Ford Foundation grant, where he connected with the artistic movements of the time. His first solo exhibition was held in 1974 in Athens (Astor gallery).
The early thematic sequences of his painting (Threat, Stone World) depict faceless figures in dreamlike spaces with suspended solid formations as ominous messages, suggesting a sense of fear and anxiety. The forms are sharp and solid, with apparent surreal elements. In the next sequence (Silent World, 1990) is dominated by the subdued description of interior spaces with an emphasis on atmosphere and architectural structure. In his more recent thematic sequences (Somatographies and Statues), the human form plays the leading role. The naked body is usually depicted in fragments with an aesthetic intensity on the verge of expressionism. Then, his painting acquires a more loose and suggestive character. The forms retain their dreamlike aspect and continue to allude to a reflection on existential questions.
He has presented over twenty solo exhibitions in Greece and Germany. He participated in group exhibitions in Greece and other European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania). He also participated in the 11th Biennale of Alexandria (Painting Prize, 1976). In 2008, the Municipal Art Gallery of Chania organized his retrospective exhibition. His works are at the National Gallery - Alexandros Soutzos Museum, the Ministry of Culture, the Vorres Museum, the National Bank of Greece and other municipal galleries and private collections in Greece and abroad.
He lives and works in Athens and Chania.