This section isn’t just about a pumpkin!, hope that has become clear. It contains some of the nuts and bolts to my background as an artist, where I studied and my influences and approach. The rest of the website is designed to demystify some of my creative process and to inspire you with the stories that lie behind the art.
During 2020 I started to narrate those stories with Audio-Visual Videos. They are found throughout the site, so keep a look out for places where this symbol 
is displayed.
There is much to explore: the Art for Sale page displays work available for purchase; the Art Gallery showcases a selection of art, spanning my career to date and there is a Blog Page where you can find articles Iv written and much, much more..
The Print & Quick-Buy Shop launched in late November 2020. Unlike my canvas and sculpture originals, the shop items can be purchased directly with credit card or pay-pal and shipped out to you automatically. The SHOP is for art products such as prints, art cards and small original art series, valued under $220
I also welcome you to visit MODERN ICON ART where you can view my unique Byzantine iconography inspired paintings. At the same time highly personal and universal, these artworks warranted their own website
ENJOY TAKING A LOOK INSIDE!
2020 Archibald Prize entry ' A piece of me: self portrait
Efrossini Chaniotis is a painter and sculptor passionate about exploring storytelling through art. She studied Sculpture at the South Australian School of Art and then went overseas from 1992 to 2000 where she completed a second Fine Arts Degree at the Athens School of Fine Art, majoring in Painting. Winner of the ‘Lecturer’s Prize for consecutive years in Athens, in 3rd year she was granted a scholarship to study at the Madrid School of Fine Art. More recently Efrossini was awarded the Gippsland Sculpture Prize among many renowned Australian Sculptors.
Diverse study exposed Efrossini to contemporary, theoretical perspectives in Australia and in Southern Europe, formal training, where discipline, skill and an appreciation of art history were valued. Each complimented the other; where one school emphasized the head, the other encouraged the heart; where one school lacked, the other excelled.
Since returning to Australia Efrossini did a Masters of Art Therapy at Latrobe University in Melbourne adding another layer to her understanding of Art. Co current to regularly participating in art exhibitions, she worked in the field intensively and helped to establish the Melbourne Art Therapy Studio (link provided) based at the Abbotsford Convent.
From 2010, Efrossini devoted herself fully to her arts practice. Since then some highlights have been: a sell out 2011 solo exhibition Tales of love and Reason at the Hawthorn Town Hall Gallery; and participating in the City of Yarra Council’s Boxing In: Graffiti project. This resulted in being included in the 2018 Burn City book, (link provided) documenting the Melbourne street art scene.
2014 to 2015 was a year of travel and Efrossini painted through parts of South America with her TRAVELLING PAINTBRUSH PROJECT. Whilst there, she created a constant stream of: street art, murals and paintings for her accommodations, local businesses and communities, leaving most of the artworks behind when she returned to Australia.
Back home, in 2018 Efrossni staged a successful solo show titled: ‘Fisherman and Mermaid’s Tale’ . The exhibition featured works on paper, paintings and sculptures all based on a story she initially created during her time in Brazil. In this show Efrossini began exploring the use of live storytelling and performance. It should be noted that all of Efrossini’s solo shows have openly explored ways to bring storytelling and Fine Art together. Her more recent use of performance and multi media to enhance the artworks and the audience experience marks exciting things to come!
Efrossini is now currently based in Melbourne, working from her Little Mykonos Studio at the West Brunswick Workshop.
Deeply connected to the artist yet with its own intelligence, art can take the lead in telling its own story. This is when it gets interesting as the artist is put in the role of the viewer as well as the creator. My inspiration comes from knowing that the creative process unfolds to reveal autobiographical and universal themes that can surprise, move and teach me in the same way it may others.
My paintings and sculptural dolls have bold colour, intricate pattern and layered textures to welcome the viewer in. Artworks for the ‘here and now’ as well as for the ‘child within’. That part of us that loves myths and storytelling. Influenced by Byzantine iconography, narrative traditions and folk art from diverse cultures I depict a mystical realm where imagination and reality meet to tell stories of the human spirit.
In a world where there are enough horror stories in popular culture and contemporary art seems to be dominated by intellectual pursuits and a fascination with the macabre, I have chosen to make art that explores our connection to mystery, love and creativity. More akin to Modern Art’s love for colour and expression and to cultures that see the totemic and symbolic power of the object itself.
When I start a painting the blank canvas is like a playground for shapes and colours to find their way into a composition. I then collage patterned fabric and paper which is repeated in paint until you can’t tell them apart. Images emerge with feeling, suggestive of a story and then I am hooked!
It is not unusual to ask a finished painting or sculpture a question and from this be led to the next piece where more is revealed. So while each piece stands to tell its own tale, it may also be part of a bigger mythical story.
Occasionally feelings shift, lessons are given shape and questions are answered by an image; or dreams kept safe by a sculptural doll. It is this aspect of art that makes me want to create forever.
EDUCATION
2002-2004 Masters of Art Therapy, Latrobe University, Melbourne, Australia
1995-2000 Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts, Athens School of Fine Art, Greece
1997-1998 Erasmus-Socrates Scholarship, Madrid School of Fine Art, Spain
1995-1997 Nominated for Lecturer’s Scholarship, Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece
1994-1995 Drawing and Painting Studies, Bathis Square Atelier, Athens, Greece
1988-1993 Bachelor Degree in Visual Arts, South Australian School of Art, Australia
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Modern Icons: Angel Cooks & Brunswick Barbers, MIP, Prahran, Melbourne
2022 The Painted Sculpture Ladder Art Space, Kew, Melbourne
2020 Into the Lush Green, Federal hotel, Bellingen, N.S.W.
2020 A Brush With the Blues, Argo Restaurant Art Space, Fitzroy north, Melbourne
2019 Invasion of the Bubble Girls, Kau & co, Northcote, Melbourne
2018 The Fisherman & Mermaid’s Tale, Soma Art Gallery, Brunswick, Melbourne
2018 Nature’s Icons, Glimpse Art Space, Northcote, Melbourne
2018 Black-Colour-White, Caffé Celine, Essendon, Melbourne
2017 Bubble Girls & I Love the Circus Print Series, Caffé Celine, Essendon, Melbourne
2017 The Magician & the Maiden, Brunswick Art Space, Edinburgh Castle Window
2016 Effie’s Home Gallery, Glimpse Art Space, Northcote, Melbourne
2014 Once Upon a Time, 69 Smith St. Gallery, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
2013 Retrospective Show, La Niche Cafe, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
2012 Heavenly Bodies, Apte Gallery, Alphington, Melbourne, Australia
2011 Retrospective Show, La Niche Cafe, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
2011 New Works, Mario’s Cafe, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
2011 Constellation Landscapes, Apte Gallery, Alphington, Melbourne, Australia
2011 Tales of Love & Reason, Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia
2010 Selected Works, Glass Gallery, Northcote Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia
2010 The Prophet’s Tale, Apte Gallery, Alphington, Melbourne, Australia
2010 The Dancer, The Tree & The Castle, Dogs Bar, St Kilda, Melbourne
2008 Story Teller’s Circle, DNA Gallery, Cremorne, Melbourne, Australia
2002 Modern Icons & Light Puppets, Art Space Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Bower Bird Sculpture Prize. Town Hall Gallery, Neerim
2023 Gippsland Sculpture Prize. Arc Gallery, Yinnar
2022 Linden Postcard Exhibition,. Linden Gallery. St Kilda
2022 Zan, Zendegi, Azadi Ladder Art Space, Kew Melbourne
2022 Lost Homelands, Steps Gallery, Carlton, Melbourne
2021 Equinox, Steps Gallery, Carlton, Melbourne
2021 Metamorphosis, Duckboard Place, Melbourne CBD
2020 Septmember, Nexus Gallery, Bellingen, New South Wales
2020 Bush Fire Benefit, Bullarto Gallery, Daylesford, Victoria
2019 Small Works 19, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Melbourne
2019 Antipodean Palette 19, Steps Gallery, Carlton, Melbourne
2019 Spoken Words, Black Cat Gallery, Collingwood, Melbourne
2019 Gippsland Sculpture Prize, Arc Gallery, Yinnar, Victoria
2014 Art for Life, Steps Gallery, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia
2013 Awakenings, Raw Arts, Flemington, Melbourne, Australia
2012 1st Anniversary Show, Beth Hulme Gallery, North Fitzroy, Melbourne
2012 Beautiful Things, Beth Hulme Gallery, North Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
2012 Stuck On, Beth Hulme Gallery, North Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
2012 Antipodean Palette 12, Steps Gallery, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia
2011 Voice: Women’s Salon, Counihan Gallery, Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia
2011 Off the Wall, Highway Gallery, Mount Waverley, Melbourne, Australia
2009 Small Works 09, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2008 Sun Show, DNA Gallery, Cremorne, Melbourne, Australia
2005 Mission to Seafarers Maritime Exhibition 05, Melbourne, Australia
2003 Mappings#2, Synergy Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2003 Postcard Exhibition, Linden Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2001 Modern Icons, Skepsi on Swanston, Melbourne, Australia
2000 Out of the Box, The Box Factory, Adelaide, Australia
2000 Graduate Exhibition, The Factory Gallery, Athens, Greece
1992 A Turbulent Mirror, Graduate Show, South Australian School of Art, Australia
1992 Heptad Heresies, Experimental Art Foundation (EAF), Adelaide