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At 1987 he came to Greece and settled in Kalamaria, at the Salonika Thessalonica area. At that period, his works were occupied with subjects like animals – especially horses – fishes, plants, trees, butterflies, landscapes, Hellenistic idols. At the beginnings of the ‘90ties most of his works become centered to chess. In 1994 he publishes the album Retro Shah, where he develops a theory on the metaphysical dimension of painting and chess based on the space-time development of movement on the chessboard. There followed: Color and Chess (1999), its main subject being ancient mode movements and chess players, The Art of Chess (1999), while he also published a collection of poems, Impassable Heart (2001). At the year 2000 he was honored be the Union of Greek Writers with a honorary diploma for his “Substantial contribution to the cultivation and raising of modern Greek culture”. In his paintings with a chess theme, Sphicas is very often inspired by the games and moves of great chess players, trying to represent the emotional atmosphere of their creations. At other times, chess experience becomes a motive for broader correlations with situations of life. His art is thus realistic, based on classical Hellenic tradition, but woven with symbolic, modern elements as well as clear influences from eastern art. These, together with his often mosaic sensation caused by his works, give his personal stigma as an artist. According to the critic Zoi Godosi, “In Sphicas’s paintings the central concept, the content of the picture, is fight. In his Retro-Shah series he does not only present historical chess games in a symbolic way. He proceeds to a representation of the spiritual and intellectual energy that accumulates as the pieces move on the chessboard… In his water-colors… the outlines get diffused and space becomes ambiguous… Yet again there is no lack of density and intensity”. Indeed, Sphicas’s paintings, especially his last productions contained in “Chess war”, centre on the aspect of fight, of agon (the ancient greek word for fight), that connects closely chess with life. They often present strong color contrasts and sharp lines, laying emphasis at the antagonistic aspect of the game, as well as of reality itself. This aspect, however, does not become excessively stressed, and there is also an element of calm and gentleness in the human figures. On the other hand, the more diffused images in his water-colors make a more chaotic impression, creating the sense of an ordered jumble. Sphicas took part in 15 personal exhibitions in Greece and abroad and in many collective ones, receiving many diplomas and prizes. His works are to be found in many private collections and galleries, having been positively commented by many art critics as well as chess journalists. As an architect of internal spaces he has been responsible for many museums and exhibitions in Greece and abroad. In 2004, together with the journalist S. Meraa, they founded the Indian chess periodical Black and White. He is a member of the ICOM (International Council of Museums). Christos Kefalis
«Chess-Theory Virtual Art Museum: Nicolas Sphicas Artwork»
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