Woozy is the tag of Greek street artist and muralist Vaggelis Hoursoglou (born 1979). He has been painting large-scale murals for nearly 20 years in a number of countries around the world.Παπαδόπουλος, Πάνος. Τοιχογραφίες μέχρι το τέλος του κόσμου, ough.grGallagher, Chloe. Woozy X The Outsiders London, curbsandstoops, 16 March 2011 His work has been a crucial aspect in the graffiti scene in Greece.Urban Mural Artist Woozy Creates Astounding Outdoor Murals, trendhunter.com, 6 April 2011Νταμπίλη, Άντυ. Έλληνες καλλιτέχνες γκράφιτι μεταμορφώνουν τσιμεντούπολη, Southeast European Times, Athens, 31 August 2012

Overview

Vaggelis was born in 1979 in Athens-Greece, where he now lives and works. In 2004 he began his studies at the School of Fine Art in Athens, which he completed in 2010. During that period he spent a year at the Lisbon School of Fine Arts, Portugal as part of an exchange program.Παπαδόπουλος, Πάνος. Τοιχογραφίες μέχρι το τέλος του κόσμου, ough.gr Since the completion of his studies, Vaggelis has worked on both commissioned and self-initiated projects in many countries around the world, including Denmark, Switzerland, China and Brazil.Παπαδόπουλος, Πάνος. Τοιχογραφίες μέχρι το τέλος του κόσμου, ough.gr He has collaborated with numerous renowned street artists such as Blu, Loomit, Nunca, Ces and exhibited his work in various festivals including Chromopolis in Athens and the 2010 Mural exhibition in China.Παπαδόπουλος, Πάνος. Τοιχογραφίες μέχρι το τέλος του κόσμου, ough.gr Using an ample colour palette, Vaggelis does not limit himself to one type of medium but rather, experiments with different textures and techniques.The Work of Woozy, Street Art, Juxtapoz, Wednesday 7 December 2011Gallagher, Chloe. Woozy X The Outsiders London, curbsandstoops, 16 March 2011

Large scale work

Athens Vaggelis's home town Athens, is where his countless signatures, small and large-scale murals, cover walls in many parts of the city.Κάντε τους τοίχους σας έργα τέχνης!, to vima, 21 April 2010

He began in 2005, with a 6 x 25m mural named My Neighbourhood, part of a collaboration project with his friends and fellow street artists Os Gemeos.Βαγγέλης Χούρσογλου aka Woozy (Street artist), theartfoundation.metamatic.gr, 21 November 2012 Five years later Woozy painted a massive 25 x 15m wall at the most central part of Athens, outside the Monastiraki metro station. Titled as The Colorful Warrior this piece was done as part of a reconstruction pilot program. Along with Colorful Tsunami, a 20 x 12m mural in central Athens, they remain some of Woozy’s most renowned murals in the capital.ΑΣΤΙΚΗ... ΠΙΝΑΚΟΘΗΚΗ: Ζωγράφοι των δρόμων, ethnos.gr, Saturday 4 January 2014 In 2011 his work was featured at the Athens Concert Hall, with his commissioned piece Music For Your Eyes.ΜΕΓΑΡΟ: Oκτώ μπάνερς από μαθητές του Γ. Ψυχοπαίδη στο Μέγαρο, e-go.gr, 15 July 2010

Portugal

Three years after his exchange program in Lisbon, Vaggelis revisited Portugal to collaborate with graffiti artist KEZ. They painted on dolosse, of the São Miguel island harbourThe Work of Woozy, Street Art, Juxtapoz, Wednesday 7 Dec 2011 and later on, in 2012 he did a piece titled Tropical Surprise, on an 18 x 6 m wall at a private home.

London

At his first solo show in London I Don’t Care About My Face (part of Steve Lazaride’s London project “The Dungeon”), he exhibited a collection of paintings on canvas.The Outsiders Present: Woozy: I Don’t Care About My Face, Brooklyn Street Art, London, 14 March 2011 As part of the same project he was commissioned to do a mural on a 6 x 25m wall at Brick Lane, titled My Tribe.Βαγγέλης Χούρσογλου aka Woozy (Street artist), theartfoundation.metamatic.gr, 21 November 2012

China

In 2010, Vaggelis travelled to Shenzhen-China for the international Mural Exhibition, where he painted on the Dafen Art Museum wall an 8 x 13m mural entitled Path Of Silk.Gallagher, Chloe. Woozy X The Outsiders London, curbsandstoops, 16 March 2011The Work of Woozy, Street Art, Juxtapoz, Wednesday 7 December 2011 In 2011 he revisited Shenzhen, this time creating an even larger mural Ornithes covering an 8 x 24m wall of the OCT-LOFT Art Centre.Βαγγέλης Χούρσογλου aka Woozy (Street artist), theartfoundation.metamatic.gr, 21 November 2012 Both projects were organised by URBANUS architecture team.

Carpe Diem Vaggelis Hoursoglou is the cofounder of Carpe Diem collective. Furthermore, he is the coeditor of the group’s publication also called Carpe Diem. Carpe Diem graffiti group was unofficially established in 1995 with the intention to support fine art interventions and promote creativity in the graffiti culture, by legally giving artists the chance to express themselves. This was achieved through various activities, events and seminars that were open to the public. The collective published two books with photos from the beginning of the graffiti scene in Greece, as well as the quarterly graffiti magazine Carpe Diem.Carpe Diem: Chromopolis - Greece 2002, graffiti.org

Bibliography Iosifidis, Kyriakos (2008). MURAL ART - Murals on huge public surfaces around the world, Publikat KG publishing, Germany 2008 Iosifidis, Kyriakos (2007). …in the streets, Metaichmio publishing, Athens 2007 Manco, Tristan (2005). GRAFFITI BRASIL, Lost Art, Caleb Neelon, Thames & Hudson, 2005 Ganz, Nicholas (2004). Graffiti World – Street art from five continents, Thames & Hudson, 2004 Terzidis, Christos (2003). ΗΙP HOP DON’T STOP, ΟXY publishing, Athens 2003 Iosifidis, Kyriakos (2002). Chromopolis. A different view of culture, Α.Ε. publishing, Athens 2002 Iosifidis, Kyriakos (1998). The colour of the city (Graffiti in Greece), ΟXY publishing, Athens 1998

Publications Iosifidis, Kyriakos (2008). Graffiti in schools, GEOTROPIO, Issue 452, 13 November 2008 Kormaris, Paris (2005). A fairytale without wheels, EPSILON, Issue 755, 2 October 2005 Makra, Tonia (2002). The walls can speak, TACHYDROMOS, Issue 120, 15 June 2002 Graffiti – All the cities’ colours, ΚLIK, February, Issue 30, February 2001 Vlagouli, Anna (2001). Graffiti unites the world, ΜΕΤRΟ, Issue 66, May 2001 Hatzizisi, Kiveli (1999). Graffiti- The Adrenalin children, ΜARIE CLAIRE, Issue 123, February 1999

External links

the Outsider's Gallery Urban Mural Artist Woozy Creates Astounding Outdoor Murals Ethnos newspaper on Athenian Street Artists The work of Woozy Street Art Street Artist Interview with Vaggelis Hoursoglou Graffiti in Athens The sound of colours Woozy X The Outsiders London Vimagazino article Carpe Diem: Chromopolis - Greece 2002 THE OUTSIDERS PRESENT: WOOZY “I DON’T CARE ABOUT * * [http://woozy.gr/files/press/chinese-daily.pdf Chinese Daily]MY FACE’ (LONDON, UK) ΤΟ ΒΗΜΑ

Video links

References