Alecos Fassianos

As in the present work, Fassianos' compositions are filled with vibrant figures in paroxysms of joy and movement. Timeless in style, these figures reflect the draughtsmanship of Matisse, Greek classical imagery and themes from pottery and Karaghiozis theatre, as well as the artist's background in printmaking and graphic design. However, in Femme amour, Fassianos adds a sense of three-dimensional solidity to this monumental representation of Womanhood; she is richly coloured and intensely modelled, and dominates the composition with the force expected of a divine being. Here, Fassianos develops his own visual language of mythology, incorporating the myths of classical and modern Greece into his imagery.

Coffee-shop and apartment tables and chairs, fluttering scarves, light bulbs, ruins, ancient monuments, bicycles and cigarettes are recurrent motifs in Fassianos' oeuvre. Simplification through silhouette and outline are the focus of the work, and in paintings such as the present, the decorative surface is enhanced by metal sheets and foil. An ever-present breeze causes scarves, flags and hair to wave and tumble across the picture surface, punctuated by objects and backgrounds with stippled and cross-hatched patterns in vibrant colours.

'Alecos Fassianos belongs to the generation of those who inherited hellenocentric modernism. His youthful works were influenced by French art informel. But he quickly found his own personal style. Ancient vase painting, vernacular art and the teachings of Tsarouchis assisted him in composing a code genetically programmed to convey a message of vital well-being and optimism' (M. Lambraki-Plaka, National Gallery 100 Years, Four Centuries of Greek Painting, Athens, 1999, p. 515).