Yannis Gaitis - Juvenilia

Yannis Gaitis - Juvenilia at the Benaki Museum, Pireos, Athens.

This exhibition covered the work of eleven Greek artists who were influenced by the major events of the 20th century: WWII, the occupation of Greece by the Germans and the famine that ensued; the Civil War that followed the end of the war, and how it divided the nation; finally the seven years of the military dictatorship that brought so much suffering to the Greek people. 

In the exhibition we were shown how each artist's work developed and changed as they matured and how some moved on to abstraction. I will cover the work of one artist in each post.

Few have captured the alienation of modern drudgery as poignantly as Gaitis. His signature motif, the Little Man, a stylised and archetypal figure in a jacket, tie and hat is anonymous and is depicting the uniformity and sterility of mass living. Using just black, white and primary colours, Gaitis humorously critiqued the impacts of automation and global capitalism on society - and alluded cleverly to the censorhip of public debate by the military dictatorship - with his caricature litle men in suits.

Gaitis' work is flooded with hundreds of  'protagonists' who sometimes we encounter on the surface of a canvas and sometimes they come out of it. You get the feeling that he wishes to open a dialogue with his own interpretation of pop art and his own answers to the great questions of our time. His Little Man, the man without an identity and a wide-brimmed hat and briefcase is expressionless, always lined up in groups.

Gaitis started off with representational art and gradually turned to abstraction and gestural painting. An interest in sculpture was another constant in his career, again focusing on abstraction. The 'Little People' originally appeared on a small scale and from 1967 they became larger and were arranged around a central theme. They became more stylised, faceless, and numerous, denouncing contemporary society. The 2023 exhibition, to mark the centenary of his birth, was called Yannis Gaitis: The Essence of Anonymity  a very apt title, I believe.

Composition, 1962, (mixed media on wood)

Untitled, 1957, (acrylic on canvas)

Myth Anecdote, 1965, (oil on canvas)

looking closer

Motorcyclist, 1967, (oil on canvas)

Chastity or The Beautiful Dulcinea, 1967, (oil on canvas)

Funfair, 1967, (oil on canvas)

Oh Gods, 1980, (oil on canvas)

Shadows of Men, 1971, (installation of painted wood)

looking closer

looking closer

Metro, 1972, (installation of painted wood)


 

Alekos Kontopoulos - Juvenilia

Alekos Kontopoulos - Juvenilia at the Benaki Museum, Pireos, Athens.

This exhibition covered the work of eleven Greek artists who were influenced by the major events of the 20th century: WWII, the occupation of Greece by the Germans and the famine that ensued; the Civil War that followed the end of the war, and how it divided the nation; finally the seven years of the military dictatorship that brought so much suffering to the Greek people. 

In the exhibition we were shown how each artist's work developed and changed as they matured and how some moved on to abstraction. I will cover the work of one artist in each post.

A pivotal figure in the development of Greek art, known primarily for his groundbreaking contribution to non-representational painting.

After graduting from school, Kontopoulos relocated to Paris, but returned to Greece when WWII broke out. During the Occupation by the Germans, he actively participated in the Resistance, creating a series of drawings depicting the suffering, hardship and famine of the war years. In 1941, he was appointed to the National Archaeological Museum, where he worked until 1969. 

Around 1947, he embraced abstract art, becoming one of its first proponents in Greece. In 1949, he co-founded and led the group The Extremists, which aimed to promote abstract forms of art in Greece. Works from this period are characterised by their departure from representational forms, focusing instead on expressing internal emotions, through free or geometric shapes, often without tonal gradations; broad free brushstrokes and quick spontaneous markings; colours earthy, as well as bold; figurative fragments interlaced with non-objective shapes in the same painting.

In 1973, he was awareded the First State Prize, which he declined as a protest again the dictatorial rregime.

He was an iconic figure in modern Greek art, bridging realism with pioneering abstract painting. A trailglazer and visionary, through his painting, writings and relentless dedication, he shaped a new language of expression, leaving in indelible mark on Greek culture.

Approximately 18 Years Old, 1974, (acrylic on canvas)

Procession, 1939, (oil on canvas)

Recital, 1951, (mixed media on burlap)

Final Study for the Archaeological Museum's Painting of Pottery, 1959, (acrylic on plywood)

Despair, 1945, (drawing with Chinese ink)

From Now on, the Knife Will Cut a Red Line on your Bread, 1970, (oil on canvas)

looking closer

Balcony with Flowers, 1973, (oil on canvas)

Self-Portrait, 1975, (oil on canvas)

Composition - Image, 1962, (oil on hardboard)

A personal note:

Through his work in the Archaeological Museum in Athens, Kontopoulos knew my father well, as my father was the dicrector of the National Epigraphic Museum. Kontopoulos' wife was French and gave private French lessons. She was my tutor for years. One year she was so pleased with my performance in a test, that she gifted me one of the original pen drawings her husband made as an illustration for a book. The drawing hangs in our living room in the apartment in Athens. Unfortunately I don't have a photograph of it to share in this post. I went to an exhibition of the illustrations for books and magazines Kontopoulos produced, but again I saw the exhibition before I started doing my blog, so do not have photographs of that either.

Dimitris Mytaras - Juvenilia

Dimitris Mytaras - Juvenilia at the Benaki Museum, Pireos, Athens.

This exhibition covered the work of eleven Greek artists who were influenced by the major events of the 20th century: WWII, the occupation of Greece by the Germans and the famine that ensued; the Civil War that followed the end of the war, and how it divided the nation; finally the seven years of the military dictatorship that brought so much suffering to the Greek people. 

In the exhibition we were shown how each artist's work developed and changed as they matured and how some moved on to abstraction. I will cover the work of one artist in each post.

Mytaras' works were influenced from ancient Greek history and mythology, but also from Greek contemporary culture and reality. From his period of critical realism during the years of the dictatorship in Greece, he moved on to a more expressionistic phase in his painting, one which he stuck to.

Table, 1957, (oil on canvas)

Interior, 1958, (tempera, gouache, charcoal on paper)

Mirror, 1957, (ink on paper)

Harikleia, 1960, (ink on paper)
 

Woman in Profile, 1957, (ink on paper)

Elderly Woman, 1956, (ink on paper)

White Hat, 1972, (oil on burlap)

Composition with Sunglasses, 1970, (acrylic on canvas)

Frozen

It's been so cold recently! We had a bit of snow, lots of frost and it reached -6oC the other night. The temperatures have eased up a bit, but we were surprised to see that the river Leam was still frozen the other day when we went for a walk in the park. I took this photograph from the bridge by the weir.

We then walked on to Wills Rd, stood on this bridge,

 the whole of the river, frozen.

I thought I could see skating on the field that floods on the other side of the road, and indeed, two people were playing ice hockey on the frozen flooded bits.

The iris in Jephson Gardens, in flower

The pond, frozen

Yannis Spyropoulos - Juvenilia

Yannis Spyropoulos - Juvenilia at the Benaki Museum, Pireos, Athens.

This exhibition covered the work of eleven Greek artists who were influenced by the major events of the 20th century: WWII, the occupation of Greece by the Germans and the famine that ensued; the Civil War that followed the end of the war, and how it divided the nation; finally the seven years of the military dictatorship that brought so much suffering to the Greek people. 

In the exhibition we were shown how each artist's work developed and changed as they matured and how some moved on to abstraction. I will cover the work of one artist in each post.

Spyropoulos is an artist I had not come across before, but I like his abstract compositions. 

Writings II, 1957, (oil on paper)

In the Forest VI, 1958, (oil on canvas)

Dancers C, 1956, (oil on canvas)

Return H, 1965, (mixed media on canvas)

Ithaka B, 1959, (oil on paper)

Lindos No. 2, 1959, (oil on canvas)

Prologue D, 1964, (mixed media on canvas)

Anafiotika, A-IV, 1957, (oil on hardboard)

Ladders III, 1955, (oil on hardboard)

Ladder, 1985, (mixed media on paper)