Michalis Garoudis (1940-2021)

Michalis Garoudis was born in 1940 in the village of Bulgarkoi, in the region of Dimotika, Greece. He graduated from the National Academy of Art in Sofia in 1965, majoring in “Painting” under Prof. Iliya Petrov. At the beginning of his creative career, he focused on still lives, seascapes, and figurative compositions. He later began to create monumental paintings, mosaics, and ceramics. The artist held his first solo exhibition in 1971 at the “Raiko Alexiev” gallery in Sofia. Since 1986, he has lived and worked in Thessaloniki, Greece. Garoudis works actively in the field of monumental arts, painting, and collage. His works are owned by many museums and private collections in Bulgaria and abroad.

Among his more significant monumental works of art are: “Art through the Ages”, House of Cinema, Sofia, 1976; the sculptures “Composition 1” and “Composition 2” created in collaboration with Kolyu Getsov for the National Palace of Culture, 1981; the mural “Revival” in the residence “Perla”, Burgas, 1981; mosaic decoration on the facade of the “Slavyani” store, a mural in the “Yantra” hotel, 1975, and a mosaic with ceramic inlay for the “Poltava” pastry shop all at Veliko Tarnovo and in partnership with Kolyu Getsov; and mosaics on the facade of 55 School, Sofia, which was co-authored with Kolyu Getsov.