Nikos CHouliaras

Nikos Houliaras (1940-2015) was born in Ioannina. He was one of the most significant contemporary painters. Between 1965 and 1970, he was involved in music. He wrote many songs, which he performed himself, as well as other well-known singers, achieving great success. He was also the first to adapt folk songs and introduce the music of Epirus to the audience in Athens. His published books include: "Forty Sketches," Ora 1974, Nefeli 1985; "Painting-Texts," Kedros 1978 (First Prize at the Leipzig International Exhibition for the best-designed book in the world); "O Lousias," Kedros 1979, Nefeli 1987; "The Bakakok," Kedros 1981, Nefeli 1988; "The Snow I Knew," Kedros 1983 (Third Prize at the Leipzig International Exhibition for the best-designed book in the world); "Life Next Time," Nefeli 1985; "The Other Half," Nefeli 1987; "Time is Always on His Side," Nefeli 1989; "A Story of the Long Winter," Nefeli 1990; "The Inner Rain," Nefeli 1991; "Nikos Houliaras - Painting" 1966-1991, Ergastiri Editions 1992; "The Details of Black," Nefeli 1993; "The Paintings of the Night Map," Nefeli 1994; "In the House of My Enemy," Nefeli 1995; "The Habitable Places of Painting," Nefeli 1997; "One Day Before Two Days After," Nefeli 1998; "Images at the Height of Life," Nefeli 2000; "The Workshop of Sleep," Nefeli 2001; "The Countryside of the Mind," Nefeli 2003; "Water on the Face," Nefeli 2005; "The Black Paintings," Nefeli 2006. His short stories have been translated into French, Italian, English, Swedish, and German, and the collection "The Bakakok" and the novels "O Lousias," "Life Next Time," and "In the House of My Enemy" have been published in French by Hatier. In 1996, he was a candidate for the European Literary Prize with the book "In the House of My Enemy." His short stories have been adapted for television. His novel "O Lousias" was made into a TV series and broadcast by ET-1 in 1989. He participated in numerous group painting exhibitions in Greece and abroad and represented Greece at the VIII Biennale of Alexandria in 1969, the exhibition at the National Gallery for the European Capital of Culture in 1985, the major exhibition at the Dallas Museum in the USA in 1990, and the world exhibition EXPO '92 in Seville. His works are in the National Gallery and private collections in Greece and abroad. Solo painting exhibitions: ASTOR, Athens, 1969 - ASTOR, Athens, 1972 - ART GALLERY, Thessaloniki, 1976 - STUDIO I, Athens, 1972 - ORA, Athens, 1974 - PANSELINOS, Thessaloniki, 1976 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 1976 - PANSELINOS, Thessaloniki, 1978 - ATHENS COLLEGE (Retrospective), 1978 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 1979 - ORA, Athens, 1982 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 1984 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 1987 - FRENCH INSTITUTE (Retrospective), 1990 - ART GALLERY PARATIRITIS, Thessaloniki, 1993 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 1994 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 1997 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 2001 - TERRACOTTA, Athens, 2001 - NEW FORMS, Athens, 2004 - T.N.T., Thessaloniki, 2004 - NEW FORMS, The Black Paintings, Athens, 2006, BENAKI MUSEUM, Athens 2011 (Nikos Houliaras. The Back Rooms of the Mind).