About the Artist

Nikitas Kavoukles (ka-voo-KLEES) was born on the Greek island of Kalymnos in the eastern Aegean Sea, where he lived until his family immigrated to New York City. There, from childhood through his teens, he trained with new and old-world artisans in decorative art, cabinetry and furniture design, and furniture finishing. He received a BFA from The City College of New York.

Augmenting his early career as a fine artist, from 1982 to 1994 Mr. Kavoukles served as a board member of the Leger de Main Arts Consortium and co-director of the LEDO Art Gallery on Manhattan’s upper west side. During that time he exhibited regularly in solo and group shows at Lincoln Center, the Professional Arts Guild, and numerous other New York City galleries, as well as the Provincetown Museum Galleries in Massachusetts. 

Following a move to Sarasota, Florida in 1994, he traveled abroad, visiting with artists and craftspeople in Greece, Turkey, and Bali to study the art and customs of those cultures. He now views his travels as a necessary period of retreat and incubation that led to a rebirth of creativity and renewed sense of purpose. On his return, in addition to his work in oils, watercolors, pastels, and etching, he began exploring the fine-art potential of the new digital media.

The Beneath the Surface series is his first public expression of this inward and outward journey. On contemplating the images, one can perceive the multiple, all-pervasive layers of life that often go unnoticed. The works can be enjoyed simply for their aesthetic qualities or used as a visual meditation tool not unlike a mandala, but more fluid in form.

Images and Text Copyright © Nikitas Kavoukles 2004-2009

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