While gaining knowledge of the fundamental principles of perception—light, plane–structure, tonal value, perspective, proportion—students in Costa Vavagiakis’ class will learn to construct images that realistically and accurately interpret the anatomical architecture and movement of the human figure in space. This solid foundation will enable students to express their personal creative vocabulary more clearly and effectively.

The drawing class will consist of short and long poses, acquainting students with the preliminary process of understanding the essentials of the figure, and providing the opportunity to develop a more complete drawing. The painting class will consist of three-week poses, allowing the student to delve into the painting process in order to attain a fully realized painting.

Costa Vavagiakis is featured in the publication Curve: the Female Nude Now, and in articles in American Artist, American Artist Drawing and The Artists’ Artists, among others.

His most recent exhibition was at Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York City.  He also appeared in exhibitions at Lesley Heller Gallery, New York City; Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, California; the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Wash., The Perception of Appearance: A Decade of Contemporary American Figure Drawing; the Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, New York, About Faces: Portraits Past and Present; and at ACA Galleries in New York City, Continuum: Celebrating the 130th Anniversary of the Art Students League of New York.

Mr. Vavagiakis was the recipient of a 2000–2001 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and the 2001 Gregory Millard Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts.