Untitled
Knives
Description
For over a decade, Thanasis Totsikas has crafted knives by hand, as sculptural objects that test the boundary between function and form. Each piece is unique, shaped through sustained study of its materials and developed across different scales and silhouettes. Some recall axes or unfamiliar cutting implements, while others suggest Constructivist shapes or Neolithic figurines. The perfectly sharpened blade, the “point,” is central to his practice. “I want them to be functional, to cut like a razor… but I also care about form,” he notes. Having designed more than five thousand variations, he treats the process as an exercise in balance and comprehension. The artist often speaks of “mastoriá” (craftsmanship in Greek) as deep knowledge built through observation, discipline, and a close relationship with nature. His knives are frequently installed in groupings on the floor, on surfaces, or on the wall, evoking the finds of an imagined excavation. Although presented as artworks, they remain technologies of work, activated by human energy to meet everyday needs. At the same time, they carry an existential charge. Their sharpness reminds us how thin the line is between life and death. Different knife installations were shown in “Hypnos Project” (2016) and “Geometries” (2018) exhibitions, produced by Onassis Stegi.

