Alecos Fassianos

This monumental work is one of Fassianos' most important works to appear to auction, and features his iconic figures, depicted in a rich blue, wearing and waving scarves jubilantly. They are placed within the framework of the city of Athens, hovering on the chequerboard pattern of the black-and-white tiles commonly found on Greek floors and courtyards. As exemplified by 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. 

Fassianos' compositions are characterised by a powerful dynamism, created by the figures' undulating hair and scarves, their larger than life presence, and the dance of the birds above their heads. Coffee-shop and apartment tables and chairs, fluttering scarves, light bulbs, ruins, ancient monuments, bicycles and cigarettes are recurrent motifs in Fassianos' oeuvre. 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.

After studying painting under Yannis Moralis at the Athens School of Fine Arts between 1956 and 1960, Fassianos was awarded a scholarship by the French government to study lithography at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the early 1960s. Recognized in both France and his Greek homeland, Fassianos received the prestigious Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1975, and was honoured by the Academy of Athens in 1999. Fassianos has published articles and books, designed sets and costumes for the National Theatre and National Opera in Athens, amongst others. In recent years Fassianos has further broadened his spectrum to incorporate jewellery, medal, poster and industrial design into his oeuvre, with some of his works decorating the Metaxourghio Station of the Athens Metro.