Troy Argyros is a third generation Greek Australian born in Melbourne, 1990 and grew up in a multigenerational household.
He holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from Monash University, and has spent several years studying classical drawing and painting at The Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy.
Troy focuses on the beauty of light across the genres of portraiture, still life, and landscape.
He has held six solo exhibitions in Melbourne, was the recipient of The Graeme Hildebrand Emerging Artist Award in 2017 for Oil Painting and his work is featured in numerous private collections internationally.
2017-2020 The Florence Academy of Art Painting Program 2013 Graduate Diploma of Visual Art Education Monash University 2010-2012 Bachelor of Fine Art Monash University 2009 Certificate IV Visual Art and Contemporary Craft Holmesglen TAFE
“In memory of Christella, whose work had a profound effect on the cultural life of the Greek Community of Melbourne, with the request that the following excerpt and images about the life and work of Christella Demetriou be used for inclusion in the Greek Australian Art Directory (GAAD).”
Media Press Release
Run and Fly, Monster Tooth!* A posthumous exhibition of paintings by artist Christella Demetriou
1st – 30th May 2019 Darebin Arts Centre, cnr Bell St & St Georges Rd, Preston, Vic. 3072
A posthumous exhibition by Christella Demetriou, Run and Fly, Monster Tooth!, will premiere at the Darebin Arts Centre on Wednesday, 1st May. The retrospective will feature a selection of works spanning Demetriou’s career as well as artefacts celebrating her diverse and multi-layered creative life. Esther Anatolitis, Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts, will open the exhibition. Commissioner, Rosaria Zarro will represent the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Artist & curator, chair of arts Mildura board, founder of museum of innocence Mildura, Domenico De Clario, & poet Andrea Demetriou (The Inconsolable Clock) will speak about her work.
Christella Demetriou was an artistic polyglot. She not only excelled as a painter, but was also a composer, a classic instrumentalist of the bouzouki, an unknown poet and an athlete. A refugee from what is now occupied Cyprus, Christella and her family migrated to Australia in 1976. She exhibited widely and performed in both Australia and Greece.
As a painter Christella was an artistic cryptographer, she used abstraction to hide within her paintings everything she could not endure, everything she could not face. She paints her feelings, her despair at the elusiveness and the falsification of love, her inability to reconcile her dreams with reality, her mother with her father, life with death, the invisible wound with the visible indifference. The deeply rooted pain of being uprooted, of not belonging, and finally her constant and chronic confrontation with cancer are indelible themes of her work.
According to curator Mitch Goodwin, “Christella’s paintings make for difficult, but soulful viewing. They are darkly euphoric explorations of the contrasting, often conflicting, modes of abstract expression. They endure because they explore a longing; a constant search.”
Christella rarely spoke directly in her paintings, however the directness of her poetry and the indirectness of her colours are communicating vessels. From her hospital bed, when she was stripped of all sense of ego, insecurity or fear she spoke her last words of love. Looking her sister straight in the eye, she said, “People are afraid to look at love directly, it’s overpowering. You are pure love, inside out, upside down, from all angles.” She also whispered to her, slowly and in anguish, “Life is a journey in the desert without relief… but you break the nightmare.”
Monster Tooth was Christella’s childhood nickname. A day after her death, artist and curator Elizabeth Gertsakis wrote to her friend, Run and fly, beautiful one!
Christella Demetriou passed away in 2018 at the age of 52.
Poetry Night (related event). On Monday the 13th of May at Ithaca house, Level 2, 329 Elizabeth St., Melbourne, at 7 p.m., academic Nick Trakakis will present his translation of major contemporary Greek poet Tassos Livaditis, whose poems have been set to music by Mikis Theodorakis; Some of the most polemic poems of Vassos Lyssarides, legendary leader and honorary president of the Socialist Party of Cyprus , will be read as a tribute on his 99th birthday; Edward Caruso will speak about his new poetry collection Blue Milonga which travels across the natural and political landscape of Argentina and Chile; Garry Foley will present Andrea Demetriou’s poetry book, The Inconsolable Clock, which expands from the wars for resources to the existential dead end, and is introduced by Christos Tsiolkas; finally poems by Christella Demetriou, translated by her friend Pavlos Andronikos, will be read.
Little did I know at the time, as a child running around the laneways and streets of Brunswick and Carlton that some 30 years later I would be walking the same lanes and streets, this time with camera at hand. I can’t recall why I asked my parents for a camera for my 12th birthday, but that’s when it began, first I thought photography was family pictures, then by the age of 16 I wanted to take sports images and photojournalism. By the time I accepted a position to study at RMIT the thought of making a living from photography was far from my mind, photography had become an art, to be view by your peers and general public in galleries. The years after graduating from RMIT in 1996 were filled with European and South American travel along with commercial photographic assisting, which I did not have a passion for. Through luck or fate I ended up opening a stall in 2001 at the Queen Victoria Market. So intone photography was created, keep it simple, create my own photographic artworks of my favourite subject matter which was Melbourne urban landscapes.
The last twenty years have been a great journey, a lot has been learnt, experienced and thankfully achieved. The opening of my string bean container (intone photography urban) has the potential for me to showcase a new and exciting range of works and ideas. I have learnt many things about trying to make a living as an artist, my most important rule was to always interact with the client, to better understand what they want and to help them understand what could be better. Another rule is to not rest on your laurels, many failures have come from doing this, develop ideas, push the boundaries, source your products and protect what you have built, I know far too well that what I have been able to achieve is far too rare unfortunately, so I don’t take it for granted.
I look forward to collaborating and exhibiting along side my fellow Greek – Australian artists, learning and sharing the processes we take creating our art pieces and gaining inspiration at the same time.
This pandemic has been a trying experience for most of us, if not all. Its been a bit of a reset button for myself, my reaction was to purchase a brand new lens and head to the streets and document the lockdowns, I loved the experience and produced some work that I was very proud of, much of which I shared on my social media instagram page @intonephoto which was well received, on the flip side my work also showed a lot of sadness in the imagery, mask wearing kids, shop closures along with bare streets.
Thank you for taking the time to read my artist bio. Tony Pierrakos
Bachelor of Arts in Illustrative Photography RMIT
(2001 – Present) Business owner intone photography Queen Victoria Market
2013-2014 Antipodean Palette Exhibitions
1997 Centre of Contemporary Photography Agfa Summer Salon
I am a Sculptor and Painter with a passion for story telling through art with a focus on themes that are inspired by my Hellenic heritage and modern art.
I have expertise in Painting, Sculpture, Street Art and Murals, Installation, Performance Art and Graphic Design. My training in Art Therapy and role as a co-founder of the Melbourne Art Therapy Studio, provided me with additional skills in the therapeutic application of the visual arts in both clinical and private, individual and group settings.
Bachelor Degree in Visual Arts /South Australian School of Art, Australia Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts/ Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece Erasmus Scholarship/Madrid School of Fine Arts, Spain Master of Art Therapy/ La Trobe University, Melbourne
Antonios Baxevanidis was born in Likostomo Pellas on the 15 May 1944 as the civil war was ravaging Greece. He was two weeks old when his parents returned to Thessaloniki. He attended the technical school of electrical engineering in Thessaloniki and was also a keen cyclist and basketball player. He served in the Greek army for two years.
In 1968 he migrated to Australia and his love for theatre and cinema led him to study the Stanislavski method of acting with Shayna Hevron. He also studied at Crawford productions film school and went on to his first acting role with the Malvern Theatre Co. playing Mr Apopolos in “My Sister Eileen”. He attended theatre workshops at the Melbourne Actors Lab with Peter Kalos.
He also worked as a freelance photojournalist and he is a member of AJA well known for his photograph of Nelson Mandela which was published by Kodak.
Film credits include Kostas (1979) by Paul Cox, Malcolm (1986) by Nadia Tass, The Young Wife (1984) ABC series, The Keepers (1984) ABC, Dougherty SBS, Flowers of Rethymnon by John Tatoulis SBS, Prisoner: Cell Block H (1979), Eisai to tairi mou! (2001) Greek television series. He also appeared in Acropolis Now (1989), 10 Easy Steps (2014) with Louis Mandylor from My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), It’s a Date (2013)ABC and Dream Of a Shadow, a Greek Australian production.
Antonios is a member of the Actors Equity of Australia MEAA and has taken part in over 50 short films, and numerous commercials.
Theatre credits include: The Respectful Prostitute, The Shifting Heart, Zoo Story , Scapino, Pluto by Aristophanes directed by Michael Nikoloudis from the Northern Theatre of Greece, Salonica Bound at La Mamma theatre by Tom Petsinis, directed by David Myles, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest HST Theatre directed by David Myles.
Antonios has also taken part in over 12 music videos. His recent success was in the music video of Tones and I: Dance Monkey (2019) that has over 1.8 billion million views.
Sifis Tsourdalakis was born in Melbourne, Australia.
Son of Soctates and Anna Tsourdalakis, he was born in Melbourne in July 1975. He grew up in a Cretan family environment and he was introduced early to Cretan music by his parents. His father, born in Melambes of the Agios Vasilios district of the Nome of Rethymno, migrated to Australia in 1965. His mother from Asi Gonia of the Apocoronas district of the Nome of Chania migrated also to Australia in the same year.
From an early age Sifis, together with his twin sister Eleftheria and his older brother Antonis, were the main members of the of the Rethymnians Association of Melbourne, “Arkadi”, dancing group and later of the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne and Victoria. Sifis has inherited the musical talent of his ancestors as his grandfather Antonis Tsourdalakis was a famous mandolin player in the district of Agios Vasilios since 1918. All his grandfather’s brothers also were players of Cretan musical instruments. Two of his uncles, Kostas and George, in Melbourne, were skilled Cretan musical instrument players as well as two of his cousins. Sifis in this environment has followed the family tradition.
His father, Socrates, was one of the founding members of the of Rethymnians Association of Melbourne, “Arkadi”, and its Secretary for ten years. In this capacity he was in contact with many of the Cretan musicians that the Association was inviting to Australia from 1973 onwards. Most had been provided with hospitality at his home, such as Mountakis, Sifogiorgakis, Skevakis, Melessanakis, Skordalos, Papadakis, Kaklis, Makrogiannakis, Alefantinos, and many more. Listening to their music made an impact on young Sifis that resulted in him wanting to follow the family tradition of a career in Cretan music.
In 1979 when George Papadakis was visiting Melbourne together with Manolis Kaklis, recognising the emerging talent of young Sifis he gave him as a gift of one of the two Cretan lyras that he had with him. Since then young Sifis treasured this gift of the lyra. With the only teacher his Cretan musical instinct and listening to the recordings of the early Cretan musicians, his love for the Cretan music flourished and started his early musical career.
Jenny Dumont has travelled to many countries over the years to paint and view the work of past and present masters. She worked as an artist and teacher during her time living in Greece, Canada and since 2008 in her Bayside art studio in Melbourne Australia. Originally trained in Graphic Design but greatly inspired by the Surrealist movement with artists such as Dali, Man Ray and Duchamp. She went on to blend and create works that explore several different mediums and styles from modern acrylics and traditional oils to abstract inks and resins.
Her journey with resin as an art medium began in 2014 with works executed on custom made round boards and canvas. Inspiration came mainly from nature especially flowers, the beautiful local Bayside beaches, and the landscape of this earth in general. She mixes inks, pigments and powders with clear resin which is then poured in layers to create a composition that is fluid, has depth and is rich in colour and visual texture.
Jenny’s artist journey reflects her love of Surrealist ideals of juxtaposing images, mediums and methods. These attributes are an influence on her style and belief that, ‘not all needs to be as we know it’. Whilst working with and teaching resin, she began experimenting with the creation of art through furniture. Leaning on her experience as a wood and metal craft teacher, her love of art and mixing mediums, Jenny sourced home furnishings with unique architecture and their potential for metamorphosis. Each piece is lovingly restored, reinvented, and adorned with a piece of resin art, one of a kind and unique to that piece.
Today, Jenny is a full-time artist, Secondary teacher and entrepreneur. She continues to work with mixed media, experimenting with the vast boundaries this medium has to offer. She stands by the belief that, ‘an artist should not be branded but be a conduit, a forever evolving fluid medium’. Private collections of her work are held in Greece, Singapore, Canada, United Kingdom and Brazil.
Exhibitions:
1999 Pylaia Art Gallery Greece
2003 Matticks Farm Art Gallery Canada
2004 Vancouver Island Food and Wine Festival
2009 Canterbury Art Show Melbourne
2010 Beaumaris Art Group2014 Art for Life
2013-2021 Bluethumb Art Gallery
2015 Antipodean Palette Steps Gallery Carlton
2015 The Bayside Art Show
2015 Mingara Art Gallery Phillip Island
2015 Emerging Art Gallery Windsor
2015-2016 Without Pier Gallery Bayside
2017 Beaumaris Art & Craft Exhibition
2015 November issue of Inside Out Magazine
Bachelor of Education in Art and Design, Melbourne University (1985-1989)
Secondary Art and Design teacher, Arts coordinator, State examiner and mentor for VCE art students (1990-1992)
Professional exhibiting artist and teacher (1993-current)
Co-founder of Steaming Ink Design Partnership (advertising, graphic design and photography)
James Raftopoulos is a Melbourne based Graphic Designer and Artist. Through abstract mark-making, rudimentary printing techniques and digital compositions and motion, James explores the fuzzier edges of what outlines the human experience. James has exhibited work in group shows across Melbourne, culminating in his first regional solo show ‘Alive/Opaque’ in 2018.
Theo is an Australian artist based in Melbourne Australia, with a BA in Fine Art from RMIT University (1983).
“I consider myself an experimental artist using different mediums and various styles, always challenging my practice. My inspiration comes from being part of the Australian landscape, witnessing and experiencing the energy of its dramatic seasonal change”.
The images and symbols which are represented in Theo’s work are completely spontaneous and intuitive without the use of drawings to guide.
2018 Van Der Plas Gallery New York, group exhibition & 2018 solo exhibition 2017 Tacit Art Galleries Melbourne, group exhibition & 2017 solo exhibition 2016 Steps Gallery Melbourne, group exhibition & 2016 solo exhibition 2014 Fortyfivedownstairs Art Gallery, solo exhibition 2012 Fortyfivedownstairs Art Gallery, solo exhibition 2010 Peters Gallery Cyprus, solo exhibition 2008 Fortyfivedownstairs Art Gallery, solo exhibition
Pasakos reflects scenes of the Melbourne Docklands. It holds many experiences for the artist from his childhood, cultural identity, and reflects a sense of home. These elements form the foundation for the artist. Most of his works to date are part of an ongoing personal journey to endeavour to understand belonging and identity. Deep connections are made between the two worlds of his Australian upbringing and Greek heritage. He often visits the Melbourne Docklands to collect his thoughts and to view the maritime landscape, to seek his own iconography, narrative, purpose and understanding of sense of place.
The Docklands is an historical area with much significance to the Australian contemporary landscape, which came into prominence during the Victorian Gold rush of the 1850s as a very busy Melbourne shipping hub. Portraying the Melbourne Docklands is to continue the narrative of travel and discovery. During his travels overseas, he has often considered the valuable migrant stories. His works reflect these powerful experiences as they act as reminders of the fragility of our sense of self in the world, and the way in which that sense of identity may develop and spawn new cultural identities that change or shape values of other cultural frameworks. His methods are in Printmaking, Drawing and in Mixed Media. Works can be seen as surreal and atmospheric. They are often rich in colour and evoke a sense of mystery. They can be quite dark and with this brings a personal insight of the artist. As a practicing artist, Pasakos has been involved in many collaborative projects, print exchanges and exhibitions that has allowed him to produce other thematic works that have enriched not only his own techniques and methods but his practice and narrative. Pasakos grew up in Melbourne and now lives in Ballarat, a rural Victorian city. He studied Visual Arts at Monash University, Melbourne. He has a Bachelor of Visual Arts Degree, a Post Graduate Diploma in Printmaking, a Graduate Diploma in Teaching, a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education and a Master of Fine Art majoring in Printmaking & Drawing.
Since 1991 Pasakos has regularly exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and internationally. His works are represented in public, private and university collections. Pasakos is a Visual Arts Lecturer at Federation University Australia teaching into Printmaking, Drawing and Studio Practice.
Global conferences – Peered Review Papers admitted and accepted – exhibitions:
International Print Conference, IMPACT – International Multi-disciplinary Printmaking, Artists, Concepts and Techniques
