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Joannis Avramidis is one of Austria's most outstanding sculptors of the 20th century. His art combines abstraction and human form in an original style which Werner Hofmann described as the "rhythm of austerity".

The human figure is Avramidis’ central theme. Inspired by the art of classical Greek antiquity as well as artists such as Hans von Marées, Brancusi, Cézanne, Léger, Schlemmer and Wotruba, he achieved a synthesis of the abstract and the figurative in his search for an objective basic form or archetype of the human being. Using circular segments as a basis, Avramidis developed a constructive system, reducing the human figure to a column devoid of any spatial gesture, thus also making reference to the theory of proportion of Greek antiquity. Nevertheless, the human form and posture has been preserved and is still recognisable through the division of the body into horizontal segments. However, movement, which is – as it were – deactivated, finds a kind of inner expression in the rhythmically oscillating flow of the contour.

Joannis Avramidis’ steles, at rest in themselves, radiate a unique stillness. They invite the viewer to explore the essence of human existence.

Avramidis left a lasting mark on Austrian sculpture and remains an inspiring figure in 20th-century art history.

(Ina Waldstein)