Sculptor Giorgos Lappas, 66, dies

Greek sculptor Giorgos Lappas died in an Athens hospital on Sunday, following complications from an acute gall bladder attack. He was 66 years old.

Born in Cairo, Egypt in 1950, Lappas studied psychology at Reed College in Portland, US, before spending a year in India exploring local temples on a Watson Institute scholarship. He then went on to study architecture in London and sculpture at the School of Fine Arts in Athens and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.

A professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts since 1992, Lappas was known for his work on the human form as well as the relationship between sculpture and space.

One of his final projects was a sculpture commissioned for an upcoming exhibition on Greek poet Odysseas Elytis.