Alecos Fassianos

Tassos Zoumboulakis Gallery, Athens
Purchased from the above by the family of the present owner; thence by descent

Athens, National Gallery and Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Mythologies of Everyday Life, 2004-5, no. 97, illustrated in the catalogue

Helen Vakalo, Fassianos, Athens, 1980, no. 68 (incorrectly dated 1978)

The canvas has not been lined. Fine lines of paint shrinkage is visible to the thicker darkest blue pigments, with associated craquelure and some spots of paint flaking which have been addressed with some retouching as visible under ultra-violet light. The white pigments in the background of the canvas also fluoresce under UV light, however this is likely to be associated with the artist's pigments. The work is in overall good condition and ready to hang. Presented in a narrow frame.
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Fassianos' work is filled with vibrant figures in paroxysms of joy and movement. Timeless in style, these figures reflect the draughtsmanship of Matisse, classical imagery and themes from pottery and Greek Karaghiozis theatre, as well as the artist's background in printmaking and graphic design.  However, Fassianos develops his own visual language of mythology, incorporating the myths of classical and modern Greekness into his imagery.

Ruins, ancient monuments, coffee-shop tables and chairs, bicycles, fluttering scarves, light bulbs and cigarettes are recurrent motifs in the artist's 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 snap, wave, and tumble about the energetic composition, punctuated by objects 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).