At EXPO CHICAGO, Prince Nikolaos presented 10 marble works, and one marble-top coffee table. Discovering new processes and using marble as a canvas, he is expanding into design which has always interested him and something he explored at the Greek Pavilion at the London Design Biennale 2021, curated by Marilena Koutsoukou.
Marble has always been a beloved material, from antiquity until today, preferred for its uniqueness, its strength, its purity. Also preferred because of how expensive and heavy it is to work with, and how unforgiving it is even to the tiniest mistake.
Every artist throughout history has wanted to push boundaries in their work. Building on his natural talent, Prince Nikolaos weaves a complex story through his artistic process, often merging subject and medium. He achieves this by printing images of Greece directly onto Greek ‘earth’, specifically on the crisp white marble of Thasos. This method, unique to the artist, who takes photography and the printing process one step further, has enabled him to combine the Greek natural element and the beauty of antiquity, with the modernity and directness of digital printing.
He harnesses the strength of the material, uses its flaws, and elevates them, rather than hiding them under the image printed. He allows us to see the perennial beauty of marble through his lens, making it both a surface as well as a theme itself. He chooses to create black and white works, so that the whiteness of the marble can come through unadulterated, and only the black hues of the work are being printed.
Curated by Marilena Koutsoukou
