PROFILE

Effi Karakaidos was born in California in 1971. She graduated from UCLA with a fine arts degree in 1993, and is pursuing enrollment in a M.F.A. program in San Diego. Her many trips to Europe, especially Greece, Italy, and Spain, have greatly influenced her work, as have trips to Mexico and Central America. Many of her works are self-portraits and/or autobiographically inspired. She often combines religious with provocative or “prohibited” themes as well as antiquity with present. The artist subtly and sometimes audaciously, respectfully questions tradition. Irony, humor, and melancholy often mingle in Effi’s work.

Although many of her works are on canvas, she prefers to work on less traditional surfaces, such as found wood panels and especially doors. Effi feels that these contribute to her artwork both symbolically and aesthetically. Effi works most frequently with oil paint, but uses acrylic, metallics, tar, and varnishes as well. She often incorporates collage, photography, text, and assemblage into her work. Effi has exhibited widely throughout the region.