Plastic artist Niki Kokkinos lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. She studied drawing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels and painting under Arie Mandelbaum at the Academy of Uccle in Brussels. She holds a postgraduate degree in Philosophy of Art, Paris XII University and won a scholarship at the Centre of Tapestry of Tournai, Belgium.
Her solo exhibitions date back to 2003, with the latest being showcased in Belgium, Bulgaria and Thailand. The major exhibitions include “Round Angle”, latest 2016 solo exhibition in Ardel Gallery in Bangkok, “Identity”, which was held at the Design Museum in Antwerp in 2012, “12 Hours for Greece”, an installation organised in the same year at the Halles of Schaerbeek in Brussels, and “Transparencies” which was held in 2009 at St Ferreol Chapel in Viens, France, at the same place she joined artists Arlette Vermeiren and Carole Solvay in holding the exhibition “The Scriptures of Quills and Paper” among many others.
Apart from polyester and canvas, Niki Kokkinos mostly works on paper. She works from large sheets of Japanese paper, which have been folded and unfolded in her own rythm according to her inspirations. When she paints, the brush strokes meet certain areas of the paper’s successive folds, which modify the shape of the fabric. Once the paper is folded, the colors appear unpredictably. In this way, her works intrigue like a book with indefinite folds full of maybe hidden secrets, light edges and touches of transparency, evanescence and opacity that allow tenderness in the sculpture.
The characteristic of Kokkinos’ works lies in their layered and ruffled transparency as well as their contrast between pictorial vagueness and marked precision. All the folds and lines invoke diverse sentiments of the countryside, the restless sky, and the architectures, sea and islands where from come her ancesters.
Main exhibitions (solo*) and publications :
2016
Round Angle, Ardel Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
Urgence Grèce,Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Osmose, Vertige Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2015
Engraving workshop at the Art School of Uccle, Brussels, Belgium
2014
Installation Artgo editions, House of books of Saint Gilles, Brussels, Belgium
Artist book Le feu dans les yeux (The fire in the eyes ), text Jean Luc Parent, drawings Niki Kokkinos* Editions Au coin de la rue de l’Enfer, France
2013
Working sessions of portraits with psychiatrics patients organised by Niki Kokkinos 6 months within the CRIT, psychosocial rehabilitation center, in Brussels, Belgium
Regards croisés (Viewpoints), Vertige Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2012
Petits formats (Small formats), Artothèque Wolubilis, Brussels, Belgium
Identités (Identity), Design Museum, Antwerpen, Belgium
12 Hours for Greece , installation at the Halles of Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium
Solo exhibition, Sredets Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria*
Labyrinthes (Labyrinths), Vertige Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Dédales arachnéens, (Arachnean Dedalia), Médiatine Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2011
7eme Triennale Internationale des Arts Textiles Contemporains de Tournai. (7th International Triennal Exhibition of ContemporaryTextile Arts, Tournai, Belgium
Solo exhibition, UAE Gallery, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium*
2010
Electre, stage back drop, Théâtre Poème, Brussels, Belgium
Land Art installation, Gallery Daelhoxent, Limburg, Belgium
2009
Transparences(Transparencies), St Ferreol Chapel, Viens, France
Scholarship at the Center of Tapestry of Tournai, Belgium
2008
Dualités (Duality), Espace Blanche Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2007
Artists' Tour, Rixensart, Belgium*
Land Art installation, Daelhoxent Gallery, Limburg, Belgium
Petits Formats (Small sizes), GPOA Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2006
Jardins intérieurs (Inside Gardens), Forest Abbey Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Weg van Brussel (Way from Brussels) Solo exhibition, Artresidence Beau Site Gallery, Oostende, Belgium *
Pourquoi des poètes ?, (Why poets ?), Solo exhibition, Théâtre Poème, Brussels, Belgium*
Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels, Belgium*
Vertige Gallery, Brussels,Belgium
Visual Arts Festival « August in Art », Varna, Bulgaria
Land Art installation, Daelhoxent Gallery, Limburg, Belgium
Petits formats (Small sizes), GPOA Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2005
Solo exhibition, Espace Blanche Gallery, Brussels, Belgium*
Solo exhibition, Greek Embassy of Brussels, Belgium*
Vertige Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Solo exhibition, 6eme Parcours d’artistes de Rixensart (6th Artists' Tour), Rixensart, Belgium*
Hommage à Rolf (Hommage to Rolf ), Daelhoxent Gallery, Limburg, Belgium
Duo exhibition with Arlette Vermeiren, Contemporary Art Gallery of the Sugar Museum of Tienen, Tienen, Belgium
Petits Formats (Small Sizes),GPOA Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2004
En attendant les Barbares (Awaiting the Barbarians), Solo exhibition, Théâtre Poème, Brussels, Belgium*
La main dans le sac (The hand in the bag) Vertige Gallery,Brussels, Belgium
Pas ce mur (Not That Wall), supporting Palestinian children, Brussels, Belgium
Tales and Stories, Daelhoxent Gallery, Limburg, Belgium
August in Art, Visual Arts Festival, Varna, Bulgaria
2003
Solo exhibition, Holleken Farm, Linkebeek, Belgium*
Du diaphane et de l’illusion (Diaphane and Illusion ), ISELP Gallery, Brussels , Belgium
Les Ithaques (The Ithakes ), « Petits plaisirs » series, Debras-Bical publishers, Brussels, Belgium*
Solo exhibition, Contemporary Arts Center, Varna, Bulgaria*
Solo exhibition, H.Karamichaelova Center, Shumen, Bulgaria*
Trees and Power, Daelhoxent Gallery, Limburg, Belgium
Un jardin pour l’art contemporain (A Garden for Contemporary Art), Hurlevent, Lambermont, Belgium.