Joannis Avramidis

Joannis Avramidis was born in 1922 in Batum (today's Batumi in Georgia) where he studied at the public art school for painting and graphic art. In 1939 he and his family emigrated to Athens and in 1943 he came to Vienna as a foreign worker. After the war, he first studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and in 1953, he studied in Fritz Wotruba's (another famous Austrian sculptor) class for sculptural art, until 1956. His design vocabulary is the depiction of the human body in a reduced way, constructed by basic forms. Avramidis is one of the most important Austrian sculptors, not only because of his artistic works but also due to his extensive work as a teacher. His head sculptures are an important part of his Å’uvre, that he kept returning to throughout his career. With only a few simple forms, he constructs human heads that captivate the viewer through their simplicity and yet meticulously designed form. Either with sharp edges and straight lines, or with voluminous forms, as seen in the featured sculpture.