Alexis Akrithakis Greek, 1939-94

Private Collection, Athens

Painted in Berlin in 1970, the present work is a superb example of Akrithakis 'tsiki tsiki', works characterised by meandering lines that invite the viewer on an introspective journey to the heart of his paintings.

Akrithakis himself once claimed: "In painting words are superfluous; in poetry design is superfluous. However, one designs a poem and one writes a painting".

Akrithakis created his own visual script - a sort of winding doodle giving idiosyncratic order and meaning to a seemingly chaotic imagination. Painted during moments of contemplation and introspection, these works combine and juxtapose tranquility with movement and dynamism. It is thus that they can be seen as an expression of Akrithakis's life at the time. 

According to accounts by his contemporaries, Akrithakis's studio in Berlin became an anarchic, bohemian haven for artists and poets of a similar political and artistic disposition. Evenings at the studio were often animated by intense discussions, theatrical performances or musical interludes, whilst Akrithakis would sit quietly in a corner painting tsiki tsiki, such as the present work.

See also note to lot 22.