An exhibition by one of the most significant representatives of post-war art in Greece, Alexis Akrithakis will be on display at the Kalfayan Gallery in Athens until January 29th.
The showcase exhibit is Akrithakis’ renowned “Bar”. It is an exceptional historical wooden installation. It belonged to an American collection and was recently returned to Greece.
This is the first exhibition of the historic installation artwork since its initial presentation at the Bernier Gallery in 1981.
The Akrithakis display is one of the annual exhibitions held by Kalfayan Galleries of Athens and Thessaloniki, dedicated to the most important Greek representatives of Modernism.
Known for his colorful palette and playful, though sometimes ironic, themes, Akrithakis remains one of the most important figures of post war art in Greece. Largely self-taught, Akrithakis embarked on an intellectual and artistic life that led him from Athens to Paris and then to Berlin in 1968 where he spent some of his most creative and productive years before returning to Athens in 1984. He was born in 1939 and passed in 1994. Two works in the exhibition are dedicated to his friends, writer Kostas Tachtsis and poet and intellectual, George Makris. Akrithakis kept company with intellectuals in Athens and later in Berlin, through his wife’s restaurant, Fofi’s. Fofi;s became a meeting place for the artistic world of the German capital.
A microcosm of archetypal symbols and images of personal experiences flows through his works. These include flowers and flags, suitcases and bicycles, heart and sun come together to create magical worlds in paintings, watercolors and wood constructions. In his tsiki-tsiki drawings, as Tachtsis called them, labyrinthine lines drawn in pen and ink conjure up imaginary worlds. Akrithakis created a visual mythology in which travel and adventure played a major role. The symbols that he used repeatedly -the suitcase, the bicycle, the airplane – evoked a desire for escape that was not only physical but psychological as well.
(source: ana-mpa)
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
