Alekos Fassianos | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 13 December 1935 |
| Died | 16 January 2022 (aged 86) |
| Education | Athens School of Fine Arts, Paris School of Fine Arts |
| Known for | Painting, drawing, lithograph |
| Notable work | The Messenger (1981), Adam & Eve (2000) |
Alekos Fassianos (Greek: Αλέκος Φασιανός, 13 December 1935 – 16 January 2022) was a renowned Greek painter. He gained recognition for his distinctive style, which was characterized by immediacy and a deliberate departure from standardized painting techniques.
The son of a musician and a philologist, and the grandson of a priest, Fassianos was born in Athens. During the Axis Occupation, he lived for a short time in a village in Nafpaktia to ensure his survival. After the war, he lived for a short time in Livadeia, where his mother was a teacher. During his school years in Athens, he met Lefteris Papadopoulos, Theodoros Angelopoulos, and Christos Giannaras.
He studied violin at the Athens Conservatory and later painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1956 to 1960 in the studio of Yannis Moralis, while also taking classes with Yannis Tsarouchis, an artist who had a decisive influence on the artist's work. During his studies, he participated in his first exhibitions, collaborated with Tsarouchis, Minos Argyrakis, and architect Aris Konstantinidis, and expanded his circle of acquaintances to include Odysseas Elytis, Takis Sinopoulos, Andreas Embeirikos, Kostas Tachtsis, Eleni Vakalo, and other prominent figures of the time. Fassianos' first solo exhibition took place at the A23 Gallery in Athens.
He then studied lithography and printmaking at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, on a scholarship from the French government (1960–1963), in the studios of Pierre-Eugène Clairin and Georges Dayez. In 1966, he held his first exhibition in Paris. Its success led to the artist's long-standing presence in the French art scene, which lasted for five decades. During the military dictatorship in Greece, he lived in self-imposed exile in Paris.
During his tenure in France, Fassianos collaborated in numerous ways with the writers Jean-Marie Drot, Pierre Seghers and Bernard Gheerbrant, the photographer and art gallerist Paul Facchetti, and with the Fata Morgana publishing house, following a referral by Louis Aragon.
In the 1970s, he participated in the Venice and São Paulo Biennales, expanding his collaborations and exhibiting in New York City, Milan, Geneva, Tokyo, and elsewhere. Over the next decade, he participated in major exhibitions such as the 1984 FIAC and the Baden-Baden Graphic Design Biennale (1985), while retrospective exhibitions dedicated to his work began to be organized.
Fasianos continued his artistic output in the years that followed, receiving numerous awards and participating in retrospective exhibitions. In 2000, he created works for the Metaxourgeio Station of the Athens Metro. After 2002, he was based in Athens. He remained active in the art scene until the final years of his life. On 13 December 2007, a Fassianos painting titled The Messenger sold for €550,701 at Bonhams in London.
Fassianos died on 16 January 2022, at the age of 86.
Since 1959, the year of his first solo exhibition in Athens, he has held more than seventy individual exhibitions both in Greece and abroad. He has repeatedly participated in collective exhibitions and renowned international events around the world. Fassianos was also active in printmaking, poster and jewelry design, as well as architecture, furniture design, and ceramics.
He also served as a set designer and costume designer for productions at the National Theater of Greece (Kafka’s America, 1975; Euripides’ Helen, 1976; Aristophanes’ The Birds, 1978, among others), the National Theater of Northern Greece, the Greek National Opera, and others. He worked with directors including Karolos Koun, Alexis Solomos, and Giorgos Messalas.
He illustrated numerous books in Greece and France by well-known poets and authors, as well as album covers. He has also published his own articles and books (both prose and poetry). Fassianos's paintings are characterized by immediacy and a rejection of standardization. His distinctive style took shape in the early 1960s. Three central themes have remained constant throughout his career: people (primarily depicted as cyclists or smokers), nature, and the environment. His study of Greek culture and his engagement with the graphic arts and printmaking also influenced his paintings.
His works can be found in art galleries, museums, and private collections around the world (the National Gallery, the Averoff Gallery, the Athens Municipal Gallery, the Mobilier National, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, Centre Pompidou, Fondation Maeght, etc.). His works are also on display at the museum bearing his name, which has been open since 2023 in Metaxourgeio, on the grounds of his family former house.
France
Greece and Cyprus
Worldwide
