Philip Tsiaras, 1952

Philip Tsiaras is an accomplished Greek-American artist known for his dynamic and diverse body of work across painting, sculpture, photography, and glass art.

Born in 1952 in New Hampshire to Greek immigrant parents, Tsiaras grew up in an environment that celebrated both Greek heritage and American identity, a blend that later influenced his artistic themes and aesthetics. His family immigrated to the United States from Greece shortly after World War II.

Tsiaras graduated from Amherst College, where he studied music and comparative literature. He studied alongside Lucas Samaras, the acclaimed American photographer and sculptor, who deeply influenced him and whom he considers a great mentor.

In 1976 he traveled to Greece on a poetry fellowship to translate modern Greek poetry into English. When he returned to the United States in 1978, he began to work with photography, exploring the intersection between verbal and visual representation, a theme that evolved into his well-known “Family Album” series. Since then, Tsiaras has lived and worked in New York City.  

His work is often characterized by its bold colors, expressive brushwork, and an exploration of human form and identity. His glass sculptures are also notable for their vibrant colors and organic forms, merging ancient techniques with a modern sensibility.

Tsiaras held his first exhibition, “Limbo”, at MoMA PS1 in New York City in 1984.

Since then, he has had numerous solo and group shows over the past 40 years, including three exhibitions at the prestigious Venice Biennale. Notably in 2001, his bronze sculpture, “Social Climber”, a 3-meter-high work, was displayed for six months in front of the Grand Canal, where approximatively twenty million visitors viewed it.

One of Tsiaras’s paintings from the “Topologies” series has been chosen by the prestigious Tate Modern and the acquisition will be completed by June 2025.

Tsiaras’s works are held in prominent museum collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), the Guggenheim Museum (NY), the Seattle Art Museum (WA), the Newport Museum of Art (RI), the San Diego Museum of Art (CA), the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Russia), the Vorres Museum (Athens, Greece), and the Mannheimer Kunstverein (Germany).

His work is also included in significant private collections, such as the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, founded by Greek collector Dakis Joannou; the collection of Mexican collector David Martinez; and the private art collection of the Niarchos family, among others.

He has received several awards and honors, including the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.

Tsiaras’s contributions to contemporary art extend beyond his works; he has significantly influenced emerging artists and continues to push the boundaries of medium and technique.