KLEOMENIS KOSTOPOULOS (KLE)
Profile
Kleomenis Kostopoulos (KLE) is a Greek visual artist working at the intersection of painting, monumental public art, and cultural direction.
His practice operates between image and collective memory, architecture and social space, artistic creation and cultural responsibility.
Winner of Best Mural of the World 2025, he is recognized internationally for large-scale public works that combine technical precision with conceptual depth.
Artist Statement
My work moves between painting and public space, between image and collective memory.
I approach painting as a long-term presence rather than a temporary gesture. Whether on canvas or on a monumental wall, I am interested in how an artwork inhabits architecture, light, and time, and how it enters into dialogue with the social body around it.
Public murals are not decorative surfaces. They are exposed, materially and ideologically. They negotiate scale, urban rhythm, and historical weight. They must withstand weather, criticism, and time.
I often engage with figures and narratives that carry cultural resonance, not to monumentalize them, but to examine how memory is constructed and reinterpreted in the present.
Alongside my artistic practice, I develop cultural platforms and contemporary art initiatives as an extension of artistic responsibility.
Durability and meaningful presence remain central to my work.
Professional Biography
Kleomenis Kostopoulos studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts and continued postgraduate studies in Stuttgart and Berlin.
In 2004, he collaborated with the creative team of Dimitris Papaioannou and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games organization, contributing as a visual artist to the historical sequence “Clepsydra.”
In 2025, his monumental mural “Kalamata,” featuring Maria Callas, received the international distinction Best Mural of November 2025, and in January 2026 was awarded Best Mural of the World 2025 by Street Art Cities.
His work has been presented in Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, China, and Cyprus.
He is the founder of Art in Progress and Artistic Director of ArtWalk, an international street art festival dedicated to large-scale contemporary public art.
Public Art Practice
Kostopoulos is widely known for monumental murals that redefine the relationship between contemporary painting and urban space.
His public works function as long-term visual landmarks, integrating historical references, social narratives, and architectural awareness.
Major projects include:
• “Kalamata” — Best Mural of the World 2025
• Large-scale murals across Greece and internationally
• European program implementations (SPARC, TRACES)
Cultural Direction
Beyond his individual practice, Kostopoulos develops independent cultural structures.
He is:
Founder of Art in Progress
Artistic Director of ArtWalk (editions 1–11)
Artistic Director of Action Field Kodra 17
Artistic Director of RE-culture Festival
His curatorial and cultural work focuses on contemporary public art, civic engagement, and long-term urban cultural impact.
Awards & Recognition
Best Mural of the World 2025
Best Mural of the World of November 2025
1st Prize Visual Arts, Robert Bosch Stiftung
DAAD Scholarship
Athens School of Fine Arts Scholarship
IKY Scholarship
Talks & Public Engagement
TEDx Patras
Travel West Forum
Development Forum
South East Europe Program
CV
Place of Birth Patras | Greece 1973
Studies
2006 – 2003 Studies in Berlin. Major in Painting.
2003 – 2001 Postgraduate studies at National Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart, in the area of Painting.
1998 – 1993 Studies at University of Fine Arts, in Athens. Major in Painting. Graduated 29/30.
Development of Studies
2003 – 2001 Postgraduate studies at National Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart, in the area of Painting, at Atelier Pr. Marianne Eigenheer.
1998 – 1996 Studies at Atelier of D. Mitara in the area of Painting.
1997 – 1995 Studies at Atelier of S. Gianoudi in the area of Icons and Fresco. Major in Icons and Fresco.
1995 – 1994 Studies at Atelier of J. Valavanidis in the area of Mosaic. Major in Mosaic.
1995 – 1993 Studies at Atelier of R. Papaspirou in the area of Painting.
Distinctions – Scholarships
2007 – 2004 Scholarship of “Vikatou” endowment from the Athens.
2003 – 2002 Scholarship of DAAD.
2002 – 2001 Scholarship of the Robert Bosch Foundation.
2000 First Award of “Robert Bosch Stiftung”.
1997 – 1995 Scholarship of the Greek National Foundation for Scholarships (I.K.Y.). Recommended by Professor D. Mitaras.
1995 – 1993 Scholarship of the Greek National Foundation for Scholarships (I.K.Y.) Recommended by Professor R.Papaspirou.
Projects
2021 Curation at the group exhibition “Writing and Reading” in the space of contemporary culture “Tatiana Dimou”, Patras | Greece.
2021 Organization and Art Director at the 6nd street art festival Patras | ArtWalk 6, Patras.
2020 Organization and Art Director at the ArtWalk 5, Patras.
2020 Mural in the municipality of Ilida. Public Art.
2020 “Karagiozis”mural in Patras. Collaboration with the Interreg program SPARC (Greece –
Italy). Public Art.
2020 Mural 100 years since the birth of “Melina Mercouri”. Public Art.
2020 Head of Empowerment and Guidance Atelier for the creative industries, in the european program “TRACES”, Patras.
2019 Organization and Art Director at the ArtWalk 4, Patras.
2019 “Mediterranean”mural in Patras. In collaboration with 2nd Mediterranean Beach
Games, Patras 2019. Public Art.
2018 Design, production and implementation of mural graffiti for Art in Progress’ project “Change the City” in Patras.
2018 Organization and Art Director at the ArtWalk 3, Patras.
2017 Art Director at the 17nd International Festival of Contemporary Art Kalamarias | Action Field Kodra, Thessaloniki | Greece.
2017 Design, production and implementation of mural graffiti for Art in Progress’ project “Change the City” in old pumping station in the region of Demenika, Patras.
2017 Design, production and implementation of moss graffiti for Art in Progress’ project “Change the City” in collaboration with “Gefyres”. Ο worker-owned (η cooperative)
café, which employs people with mental health problems, in Patras.
2017 Organization, production and implementation of stencil graffiti for Art in Progress’ project “Change the City” in the 2nd school of Second Chance in (the penitentiary of) Patras.
2016 Organization and Director at the 4nd International Festival of Contemporary
Art Patras | RE-culture 4 and the ArtWalk 2, Patras.
2016 Curator at the ArtWalk 2, Patras.
2014 Organization and Art Director at the RE-culture 3 and the ArtWalk 1, Patras.
2014 Organization and Art Director at the RE-culture 3 and the ArtWalk 1, Patras.
2014 Curator at collection of Sotiris Felios during the RE-culture 3, Patras.
2013 Organization and Art Director at the RE-culture 2.
2013 Curator «contemporary Greek painting» during the RE-culture 2.
2013 Design, organization and implementation of artistic intervention in cooperation with
the network of reintegration and treatment services of OKANA (Organization
Against Drugs) Patras.
2013 Art therapy programs to socially sensitive groups within of RE-culture 2.
2013 Design, organization and realization of a complete artistic project concerning
recycling, entitled “Nothing is to be wasted” Patras.
2012 Organization and Art Director at the RE-culture 1.
2012 Curator «contemporary Greek painting» during the RE-culture 1.
2012 Participation in the intersectoral cultural project on Wagner, Oslip Austria.
2012 Organization of the art exhibition dedicated to Alexander Papadiamantis in the New
Archaeological Museum of Patras.
2011 Creation of the nonprofit organization Art in Progress.
2004 Permanent assistant in the Olympic Games “ATHENS 2004″ creative department.
Mainly, I worked in the artistic preparation and production of ”Clepsydra”, which in the
Opening ceremony, represented the unfolding of the Greek History.
2003 – today Art Classes for children and adults.
2003 Curation of art exhibition in the hospital of Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stuttgart, Germany.
1999 Planning out and organizing a complete cultural scheme in the frames of “PATRA
Cultural Capital of Europe 2006″. The subject of the proposal concerned the
implementation and administration of a Pan-Hellenic festival with new artists of all
forms and kinds of art.
1996 Planning, organizing and establishing the first artistic festival in the University of Fine
Arts. Since then, the festival is held on an annual basis and is approved by the Minister
of Civilization.
1995 Attendance and guidance in a painting project, that happened in Aalfen, Holland. It
was a two week multi cultural project, in which there were 40 artists from all over the
world with totally different artistic influences. It was under the auspices of the
European Union and the theme was ”Recycling”.
S p e e c h e s | P u b l i c c o n s u l t a t i o n
2015 TEDx Patras.
2014 Introduction – art and the public space, Citylab, Patras | Greece.
2014 Jewel – joint easily wafted east laboratory model, of the European programme “south east Europe”, Patras | Greece.
2013 “Extroversion now” multi-conference “Development Forum money show”, Patras | Greece.
2012 Public consultation about the strategic design of a cultural policy Management Authorities of the Prefecture of Western Greece Patras | Greece.
2012 “Innovation and Art” multiconference «Development Forum money show», Patras | Greece.
