Greg Papagrigoriou and Simek

 


Greg Papagrigoriou and Simek

 

Greg Papagrigoriou is an Artist relatively new to the wall painting scene. You wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at his most recent group of work. Greg approaches walls with the traditional graffiti subject, letters and type. The difference is clear though as his walls are not from the NY school of letters, but from the ancient and type based calligraphic school of letters. With the new mix of street artists taking to walls around the world, I am usually more annoyed then impressed when it comes to their approach, or ability to understand the history of the medium. I can say that Greg is in the minority and his calligraphic installations and approach to walls is very well executed. His ability to utilize a space creating a conceptual and installation feeling to a wall is one of his strengths. Here is a statement from Greg about his work.

GF

“My first contact with letters began when I was a student at the School of Graphic Design in Athens. During this time, I discovered the area of typography, which progressively became the key piece of my interest and involvement. As the end of the school was approaching, I attended a workshop of calligraphy and this turned out to be one of the major motives that changed my way of thinking. From that point on, I started working mostly with hand and to experiment with different materials and surfaces including the wall. My experience with wall painting started about a year ago but somehow I was always attracted to graffiti. Within this framework, calligraphy provided the best opportunity for me to start bringing my ideas to practice and this is how I ended up combining the three, i.e. typography, calligraphy and wall painting. The letters on the wall I make are not intended to pass a message but they function as decorative elements – patterns on my compositions. What I really enjoy when I go out for painting is to collaborate with others because this allows the blending of different styles and the result is always different and more enriched than when working alone.”