Costas Xanthis is a Greek artist with and academic background bridging Fine Arts and Theology. After completing his studies in Theology, he earned both a Bachelor’s and an Integrated Master’s degree in Visual and Applied Arts at the School of Fine Arts of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), graduating with the highest distinction and receiving the Excellence Award from the Ministry of Education and the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). His work has been presented in institutions such as MOMus - Museum of Contemporary Art, MOMus - Museum of Modern Art, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, and at international events including the Brande Biennale (Denmark 2023) and Mediterranea 20 Biennale (Italy-Slovenia 2025). In 2024, he received the First MATAROA Award, and in 2025 he presented his first solo exhibition, Toys of Hostile Nature, at Donopoulos International Fine Arts.
Xanthis’s practice explores the seductive aesthetics of violence through playful, tactile objects that merge innocence with latent aggression. Using materials such as silicone and plexiglass, he creates forms that evoke both desire and threat, drawing from contemporary desing trends, historic grotesque imagination, and symbols of militarism. His work examines the cultural renormalization and eroticization of warfare in Western society, inviting viewers into a universe where conflict becomes internalized, aestheticized, and reassembled through the lens of desire and fetishism