Yorgos Papadopoulos initially studied as an interior designer at Middlesex University changing to a Ceramics Diploma at the City Lit in London. Whilst studying for his MA in ceramics at the RCA, Papadopoulos became drawn to the glass studios and after an incident where a sheet of industrial glass was broken, he became seduced by the material’s contradictory qualities. Excited by what is normally viewed as a bad outcome in the glass community he spent the rest of his MA experimenting with and breaking glass.

‘Glass is my canvas, hammers are my brushes,’ says Papadopoulos. His ability to exploit and harness accident has informed his entire working practice. His architectural panels create a stunning focus in cool modern spaces, the contrast between the unpredictable movement of fracture and the clean lines of contemporary architecture excite the eye.

His modern ‘Icons’ series subverts the classic language of devoted religious painting and interprets it with the eyes of western visual tradition. Papadopoulos has also reworked the iconic 'Evil Eye' amulet with his ‘Stratified Jewels Collection’. Taking this simple composition as a starting point, the scale is blown up and the colours completely reworked. It is the marriage of two seemingly opposing ideologies that mirror Papadopoulos’ own experience as a Cypriot growing up in the UK.

Papadopoulos’ work is represented in private collections globally and public collections including; Eskishihir Glass Museum, Eskishihir (Turkey), Derix Glass Studio Taunusstein (Germany) and British Airways Art Collection - Heathrow T4 (UK). He is the author of the A&C Black book Glass Lamination.

Most recent and most notably, he was awarded 1st Prize at the European Glass Context 2021. The corresponding exhibition was held at Bornholm Kunstmuseum.

Exhibitions and further information

2018 Stratified Jewels Solo Exhibition • Further reading

First artist portrait by Elena Alonefti Fitikidou.