Costas Coulentianos, born in Athens in 1918, began his artistic journey at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1936 to 1939. In 1945, he departed post-war Greece for Paris, where he briefly attended the Ecole Des Beaux Arts and Zadkine’s studio at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière with a scholarship from the French government. In Paris, Coulentianos immersed himself in the vibrant art scene, forming influential connections and friendships with leading sculptors, including Henri Laurens, who profoundly impacted his work.

Departing from traditional sculpting techniques, Coulentianos sought to engage with modernist traditions and break free from academic constraints. His early figurative sculptures, particularly focused on the female form, evolved to depart from anatomical precision, embracing sensuality and fluid curved lines. He believed that sculptures should possess genuine motion to interpret space effectively, aiming for them to seamlessly integrate with their surroundings.

Around 1952, Coulentianos embarked on a new artistic phase, crafting sculptures from metal sheets, marking the beginning of his exploration of figuration and abstraction. His works blended the figurative and the abstract, aiming to create sculptures that exuded “a powerful, simple immediacy” and were completely exposed in their raw beauty. He developed a unique technique, known as “fer brassé” in French, directly welding bronze, copper, lead, or tin onto iron, creating a distinctive texture. In the early 1960s, he further expanded his artistic repertoire, creating sculptures, reliefs, and furniture using this innovative method.

As his career progressed, Coulentianos delved into more geometric forms, embracing bolted sculptures, woodcarvings, concrete reliefs, and even ventured into woven textiles and silkscreens. His artistic evolution was a testament to his commitment to abstraction and geometrical structures.

Throughout his career, Coulentianos held numerous solo exhibitions across Europe, contributed over 50 works to public spaces, and participated in nearly 100 group exhibitions. He passed away in Arles, France, in 1995.

In 2012-2013, a retrospective exhibition titled “The last of the modern acrobats” showcased Costas Coulentianos’s remarkable body of work at the Benaki Museum in Athens and the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki.

Reflecting on his own artistic philosophy, Coulentianos emphasized his primary concerns of matter, light, and space. His oeuvre remains a testament to his unwavering commitment to exploring the dynamic relationship between matter, light, and space in the realm of sculpture.