Kostas Tsoklis, a prominent Greek visual artist, was born in Athens in 1930. He began his artistic journey at the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he studied until 1954. Following this, he pursued further studies in Rome from 1957 to 1960, supported by a scholarship from the I.K.Y. Subsequently, he spent a significant period of his career in Paris from 1960 to 1984, with a brief interlude in Berlin as a guest of D.A.A.D. in 1971-72. In 1984, he made a permanent move back to Athens.

Tsoklis gained international recognition from the late 1960s with the exhibition of his perspective “Objects”. Since then, he has been dedicated to systematic experimentation with various forms of artistic expression, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, construction, video, performance, light, and sound. His exploration has been focused on approaching objects, nature, myths, and social issues in innovative ways.

A significant milestone in his career was his participation in the 1986 Venice Biennale, where he represented Greece with a series of works such as “Perched Fish” and “Portraits”, which involved the projection of video images onto paintings. This marked the inception of his concept of “living painting”, which he further developed in 1990 with the introduction of specific viewing times in the visual artwork, notably with the complex multiscreen “Medea” presented at the Cadran Solaire in Troyes, France.

Tsoklis has held over a hundred solo exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide, including notable venues such as the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels (1971), the Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf (1972), the Pierides Gallery in Athens (1983), the Luigi Pecci Museum in Prato, Italy (2000), the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens (2000-2001), and the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence (2003). Additionally, he has participated in major international group exhibitions, such as the Paris Biennale (1963 and 1965), Sao Paulo (1965), and Documenta in Kassel (1975).

In 1986, Tsoklis represented Greece, alongside Christos Karas, at the Venice Biennale. Notably, the Frissiras Museum paid tribute to his early works from 1950-59 in 2001, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art held a major retrospective of his work in the same year. Furthermore, he was part of the artistic group Gruppo Sigma in Rome during the late 1950s, alongside Vlassis Kaniaris, Yannis Gaitis, Nikos Kessanlis, and Dimitris Kontos.

Tsoklis’ artistic legacy extends to public spaces, with his works adorning locations such as the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Tribute to Alexandros Iolas) and the National Defence Station of the Athens Metro (Underground Park).