Frosso Eythimiadi – Menegaki

1911
Frosso Efthymiadi was born on November 11 in Istanbul. She was the daughter of Angelos Efthymiadis and Despina Nicolaides, and had three siblings, Elli, Efi and Mimis.

1922
Her family sought refuge in Athens. Frosso attended the American College for Girls and the French School. She also studied the piano.

1930-1933
Between October 1, 1930 and June 30, 1933, she studied pottery and clay sculpture at the School of Applied Arts of the Austrian Art and Industry Museum (Kunstgewerbeschule des Österreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie), later the University of Applied Arts (Universität für Angewandte Kunst), under professors Michael Powolny and Robert Obsieger.

1933
In July, she returned to Greece and established a pottery workshop. She began travelling around Greece, looking for raw material for her work, gathering information and clay samples in many shades and grades. Small plates of many such samples were found in her studio.

1939
Kostas Kotzias, then minister of Capital City Administration, commissioned her to produce glazed or patinated terracotta animals to be installed in public gardens in Athens: the Kifissia, Pangrati, Evangelismos and Paleo Faliro parks, and the squares Eleftherias, Agiou Ioannou (Vouliagmenis), Messolongiou, Ioannou Metaxa (Lenorman), Kyriakou and the corner of Alexandras & Patission streets. Also, squares in Filothei, Psychiko and Glyfada, Pan’s Cave, the Fokionos Negri and Konstantinoupoleos streets. The outbreak of war prevented completion of the project; several pencil drawings for these works were found in the artist’s archive, including mention of their intended location, as well as the draft and copies of the commission contract, signed on June 5, 1939.

1940
She had sculptures installed in the courtyard of the Kifissia Gardening Fair and was awarded a certificate.

1945
In December, she left for Paris with the first group of post-war fellows of the French government.

1946
She studied under Marcel Gimond.

1947
In August, she left for South America, where she had family, in the hope of a career. She brought along more than 80 works and her electric kiln. She first settled in Montevideo and then in Buenos Aires.
During her sojourn, her brother Mimis, who had remained in Vienna after they had completed their studies, and worked as a set designer and cartoonist, drowned in the Danube. Frosso found out of his death much later.

1948
The Greek expatriate Nikos Konialidis acquired her Couple of Roe-Deer and, through the Greek ambassador, Kimon Kollas, donated it to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. Similarly, the Museo de Bellas Artes de la Boca acquired a Seated Deer. Furthermore, mounting her first solo exhibition and participating in group shows gave her the opportunity to receive private commissions. Her correspondence with her later husband, Manolis Menegakis, indicates that she was eager to make a bust of Eva Perón, but the plan fell through.

She visited Bolivia and Peru to study the Inca civilization and traditional Indian art.

1949
In June, she returned to Greece, since living conditions in South America had proved difficult and possibilities for professional success limited.

She married Manolis Menegakis, a lawyer, who, during her absence had arranged for the construction of their home, designed by Dimitris Pikionis, on 10, Grypari Street in Kypriadou, an area in Athens.

1950
In October, she enrolled at Marcel Gimond’s studio in Académie Julian to pursue further studies in the school year 1950-1951.

1951-1953
She often travelled to Rome, Milan and Paris, mainly to cast works.

1953
She travelled to Morocco.

1954
She became founding member of Greek Women Artists’ Association.

1955
She was elected as vice president of the Greek Women Artists’ Association.

1955, 1956
Travelled to Egypt.

1957
Under an international educational exchange programme, she travelled to the United States as a fellow of the US government to visit museums, art centres and universities, meet with preeminent artists and study contemporary art. During her visit, she also visited Mexico and studied the Mayan culture. When she returned to Greece, she published articles on American museums and sculpture.

1959
A large-scale Ibex was installed in the Emporiki Bank pavilion at the Thessaloniki International Fair.

She travelled to Sao Paulo to participate in the Biennale and visited Peru and Colombia.

1960-1970
She travelled to Japan, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Java, Bali, New York, China, Iraq, Persia, Nepal and India. She also frequently visited Rome and Paris, while she had earlier on visited London, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Spain and Portugal.

1970
In November, as part of the Rhythm and Movement in Art programme at the Hellenic American Union, the choreographer Karen Kanner presented choreographic pieces inspired by the “movement” of Frosso Efthymiadi’s sculpture.

On November 21, her husband, Manolis Menegakis, passed away. His death had a devastating effect on her personally and artistically, putting an end to a remarkable career extending from figuration to abstraction. Since then, her activity as an artist was limited to contributing earlier work to exhibitions.

1973
The large-format book Froso Eftimiadi was published, originally instigated by Manolis Menegakis.

1974
On the occasion of the book publication, on December 28 she was awarded by the Athens Academy for her overall body of work.

1976
She completed a large-scale marble Lot’s Wife, and had it installed on her husband’s grave.

1977
The monograph Froso Eftimiadi was released in Paris, with an essay by Ionel Jianou.

1980
Frosso Efthymiadi was the first woman nominated for Academy of Athens membership for Sculpture. The position was ultimately taken by Yannis Pappas.

1995
Died in Athens on July 22.

1947
Exposition de escultura. Froso Efthymiadi, Galeria Müller, Buenos Aires
See works on display and newspaper clippings.

1948
Calle Florida 846, Buenos Aires

1954
Terracottas. Frosso Efthymiadi-Menegaki, To Vima newspaper exhibition space, Athens
See works on display, newspaper clippings and exhibition photographs.

1955
Frosso Efthymiadi. Sculpture, The Hanover Gallery, London
See works on display and a BBC programme.

1961
Domi S.A. Headquarters, Athens
See works on display, newspaper clippings and exhibition video.

1962
Athens Technological Institute, Athens
See works on display, newspaper clippings and exhibition photographs.

1938
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
Frosso Efthymiadi won a bronze medal and a cash prize.
See works on display and newspaper clippings.

1939
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

New York World’s Fair, Flushing Meadows

International Women. Painters, Sculptors, Gravers, Riverside Museum, New York
The exhibition was organised by the National Council of Women of the United States of America.
See newspaper clippings.

1940
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

1941-1944
Professional Art Exhibition, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
See works on display.

1946
Greek-French Youth Association. Paintings, Sculpture, Engraving, French Institute, Athens

1947
International Contemporary Art Fair (Exposition internationale d`art contemporain), Palais de Ghézireh, Cairo
See works on display.

Women`s International Art Club. Contemporary European Women Painters. 45th Annual Exhibition of the Women`s International Art Club, RBA Galleries, London

Greek Art: Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Crafts, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm (Grekisk konst: måleri, skulptur, grafik, konsthantverk, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna Stockholm)

1948
Casino, Mar del Plata, Argentina
See works on display.

14th International Fair of Livestock, Art exhibition on themes from the countryside (XIVa Exposicion Internacional de Ganaderia, Salon de arte con temas de la campaña), Calle Florida 458, Buenos Aires
The exhibition was organised by the Argentinean Agricultural Union; Frosso Efthymiadi won the prize Adolfo Bullrich y Cia Ltda S.A. for her work Calf.
See works on display.

1951
Greek Women’s Art Exhibition, Efthymiadi-Menegaki’s studio, Athens.
The exhibition was organised during the International Women’s Council Conference.

1952
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

1953
Greek Women Artists’ Exhibition, Knossos Art Gallery, Athens

1954
International Architecture Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display and newspaper clippings.

1955
International Ceramics Fair, Cannes
The exhibition was organised in the context of the First International Ceramics Festival. Frosso Efthymiadi garnered a silver award.
See works on display, newspaper articles and photographs from the exhibition.

Greek Women Artists’ Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cairo
See works on display.

1956
International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture (Exposition Internationale de Sculpture Contemporaine), Rodin Museum, Paris
See works on display and press clippings.

1957
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking by the Greek Women Artists’ Association, Zygos Art Gallery, Athens
See works on display.

1958
Modern-Art Exhibition, Kouros Art Gallery, Athens
See works on display.

1959
Sao Paulo Biennale
Frosso Efthymiadi received honours. Before the Biennale, from May 9 to 13, she had shown her recent work in her studio.
See works on display and newspaper clippings.

1960
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

1961
2nd International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture (2e Exposition Internationale de Sculpture Contemporaine), Rodin Museum, Paris
See works on display.

1962
Peace-Life, Zygos Art Gallery, Athens
See works on display.

Colorado Collects, Denver Art Museum, Denver, U.S.A.
See works on display.

1963
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

Greek Women’s Art Association Exhibition, Parnassos
See works on display.

5th Alexandria Biennale
See works on display.

1964-1965
New York World’s Fair, Flushing Meadows
See works on display, newspaper articles and photographs from the exhibition.

1965
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

Froso Eftimiadi, Greek Sculptress, Galerie des Deux Mondes, John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York
See works on display.

First International Sculpture Exhibition. “Panathenaea of Contemporary Sculpture”, Hill of the Muses – Filopappou, Athens
See works on display.

1966
Greek Artists’ Exhibition, Hellenic-American Union, Athens
See works on display.

1967
Greek Women’s Art Association, Techni Macedonian Art Society, Thessaloniki
See works on display.

Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

1968
XXe Salon de la Jeune Sculpture, Palais Royal, Paris
See works on display.

1969
Greek Women’s Art Association Exhibition, Kennedy Hall, Hellenic-American Union, Athens
See works on display.

XXIe Salon de la Jeune Sculpture, Palais Royal, Paris
See works on display.

1972
Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Apollonio Community, Porto Rafti
See works on display.

1975
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Zappeion Megaron, Athens
See works on display.

1979
Contemporary Sculpture. First Greek Sculptors’ Association Exhibition, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

1980
Relief Exhibition, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Athens Conservatory, Athens

1981
Miniature Sculpture Exhibition, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

Sculpture ‘81. 3rd Outdoor Exhibition, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

1982
4th Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

1983
5th Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

Sculpture Exhibition, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Larissa
See works on display.

1984
The Nude. Sculpture-Drawings, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

1985
6th Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

Reminiscences, Transformations, Quests. Painting, Sculpture, Engraving, Athens Conservatory, Athens
See works on display.

Sculpture ‘85, Greek Sculptors’ Association, Municipality of Paleo Faliro, Plateia Iroou, Floisvos, Paleo Faliro
See works on display.

1987
Panhellenic Art Exhibition, Piraeus Port Authority Exhibition Centre, Piraeus
See works on display.

Sculpture in the Attic Light, Korai pedestrian street, Athens
See works on display.

1988
Institut Français d’Athènes. 50 Years 1938-1988. 22 Greek Artists Former Fellows of the French Government, Kostis Palamas Building, Athens
See works on display.

Navigate to the topics and discover the works of Frosso Efthymiadi.

Ceramic Works

Frosso Efthymiadi studied pottery in Vienna and worked exclusively with terracotta until the mid-1950s. In this context, she became extensively involved with producing various decorative or functional objects, such as garden pottery, hanging and portable flower vases with relief decoration, plates for wall hanging and vases, lampshades, candlesticks, lamps, cups, teapots, as well as statuettes for home and office decoration. Of these items, the oldest of which date back to the artist’s student years (1930-1933), the National Gallery collection received plates, but mostly vases, painted with stylised images, or geometric patterns, sometimes adorned with embossed or engraved designs. In an interview to Dimis Apostolopoulos for «Ώρα τέχνης και επιστήμης» (Art and Science Hour) radio show on December 16, 1954, the sculptress explained her reasons for choosing these kinds of objects: «II love the subject of Water-Jars, both because even now they have not disappeared from everyday use in our country and because they have a functional shape that offers endless possibilities for producing many different forms – human figures, birds, animals». An interesting elaboration of this early work is the inventive Water-Jar Figures, made in the early 1950s, which aptly combine the female body with the form of the jug.

Animals

Alongside ceramics, since her student years Frosso Efthymiadi also pursued sculpture, working on specific topics, such as animals, birds, figures and busts. A special place among these topics is held by animals and birds, small- or large-scale, which makes her unique among Greek sculptors in working so extensively with animal forms. Her love for these subjects, as well as her use of terracotta until the mid-1950s, stems from her perception of the intention and function of sculpture, which she describes in an interview to Dimis Apostolopoulos for «Ώρα τέχνης και επιστήμης» (Art and Science Hour) radio show on December 16, 1954: «… My aim is not monumental sculpture but art that accompanies people in their everyday life – something I think is missing in Greece.». This is why she renders animals realistically, in casual poses, stressing their light-hearted, cute nature by soft modelling. Small-scale works were intended for interior decoration, as she felt that, «Terracotta sculpture is particularly suitable to the current perceptions of home decoration». Large-scale works were mainly intended for private gardens, or public spaces: «I do love themes suitable for garden decoration, and think that animals are most suitable for this. As you can see, all my animals – goat, donkey, calf, deer and horse – are realistically modelled, as dictated by their intended use. I sought to capture each animal’s characteristic movement and expression. In fact, I had to bring a live model to my studio each time. I let it run in my garden. …». For instance, for Pan and Baby Lamb, she borrowed a lamb from the neighbourhood; the model for Pan was Greek architect Pikionis’ son Tassos. Photos of animals that she used as models, such as the donkey employed for Baby Donkey were found in her photographic archive.

In 1939, Kostas Kotzias, then minister of Capital Administration, commissioned her to produce glazed or patinated terracotta animals to be installed in public gardens in Athens: Kifissia, Pangrati, Evangelismos and Paleo Faliro parks; Eleftherias, Agiou Ioannou (Vouliagmenis), Messolongiou, Ioannou Metaxa (Lenorman), Kyriakou squares and Alexandras & Patission street corner. Also, squares in Filothei, Psychiko and Glyfada, Pan’s Cave, and the Fokionos Negri and Konstantinoupoleos streets. The outbreak of war prevented the project from materialising; however, several pencil drawings were found in her archive. Other works planned for these locations were also Kid, Seated Donkey and Boy on a Dolphin, which was designed as a fountain. In 1940, she decorated with sculptures the Kifissia Gardening Fair and was awarded a certificate; she installed Pan with Lamb, Kid and Seated Donkey in her home garden.

Her interest in animals, however, faded in the mid-1950s. Having made in 1951 the small-scale terracottas Animals of the Andes – stylised evocations of llamas of South America, which she transferred, three years later, to large-scale casts and forged iron – in 1955 she completed the series with Ibex, a stylised , abstract and quite decorative version of a wild goat, which was but a nearly identical version of an early work in terracotta.

Birds

Frosso Efthymiadi studied pottery and sculpture and since her student years worked on specific topics, such as animals, birds, figures and busts. Among them, birds enjoy prime of place, having kept her undiminished interest from her early years to the late 1960s, when her creative career came to a close. The choice of these subjects, as well as of the medium of terracotta until the mid-1950s, reflects her perception of the purpose and function of sculpture, which she describes in an interview to Dimis Apostolopoulos for «Ώρα τέχνης και επιστήμης» (Art and Science Hour) radio show on December 16, 1954: «…My aim is not monumental sculpture but art that accompanies people in their everyday life – something I think is missing in Greece». Small-scale works were intended for interior decoration, as the artist felt that, «terracotta (…) lends itself very nicely to current interior decoration trends».

Unlike other thematic series, Birds are primarily characterised by abstraction and stylisation inspired by a variety of models; they are determined, however, also by their ornamental character. This is most evident in her earliest terracottas, as well as in the series of Cocks and Owls, also characteristically static. After the mid-1950s, abstraction and stylisation intensified, while terracotta is replaced by metal. A characteristic series is Eagles, which elaborates, in compositions of latent movement, on the dynamic, majestic effect of opened wings, the artist working with either solid surfaces or hammered sheets and rods that combine full and empty parts. From 1960 on, moreover, she produced solid, seemingly static compositions, such as Winged Chief, Angry Owl, Night Bird, Minerva, inspired by the technique of golden jewellery with densely collated rods that she had seen in her travels in Peru and Colombia in 1959; starting with Bird, with its distinctively dynamic movement in space, in the 1960s, reduction verged on abstraction in works such as Pheasant, Wounded Bird, Rising, First Flight.
On the other hand, the preliminary sketches for several art works made of thin iron rods, the finished works being in forged bronze, iron or brass, provide a more complete understanding of the creative process.

Busts

Since her student years and until around 1955, Frosso Efthymiadi produced busts, some in terracotta and some cast in bronze. The sitters are usually her friends, or persons from the artist’s inner or outer social circle. Modelled in a realistic vein, these busts reflect an interest in psychological insights, acknowledged by the artist in an interview to Dimis Apostolopoulos for «Ώρα τέχνης και επιστήμης» (Art and Science Hour) radio show on December 16, 1954: «… In addition to the sitter’s characteristic features, the artist must capture and convey the person’s inner world. It is not always easy, you know, because, in this case, the, usually complex, personality requires individuality of expression. That is why in busts I avoid a lot of abstraction, and in some busts I think we need to maintain a certain documentation».

In the collection of the National Gallery there are two busts of the writer Nikos Kazantzakis, the older of which was made on Aegina in 1937; busts of the archaeologist Gabriel Welter, who carried out excavations on Aegina, of the architect Dimitris Pikionis, of the writer Stratis Myrivilis, of the mayor of Athens Kostas Kotzias and Dimitris Galanis’ grand-daughter, Catherine; the Japanese Girl is Kazuko Watanabe, daughter of Νobuo Watanabe, the Japanese ambassador, with whose family the artist was on friendly terms and corresponded until 1989.

Some of the busts exist in more than one copy. Some belong to the sitters’ families, such as Japanese Girl and Kostas Kotzias’ bust; others have been installed in outdoor or indoor sites, for instance Gabriel Welter’s bust, which was installed on Aegina in 1938, or one of the Nikos Kazantzakis’ busts, in the eponymous museum on Crete.

In the sculptress’s studio were also found one copy each of the Japanese Girl and Girl from Mykonos on terracotta, with hand-painted features, as, after 1950, Frosso Efthymiadi experimented with hand-painting certain works, most of which had been made in previous years.

Mermaids and Sea Themes

The most frequently encountered mythological theme in Frosso Efthymiadi’s works is the mermaid. The earliest example is Mermaid with Fish, a realistic terracotta intended for outdoor use, which can be seen on the patio in photographs of the house. Boy on a Dolphin, respectively, which was designed as a fountain, was intended for public installation in Athens, as in 1939 Kostas Kotzias had commissioned from the artist works to be installed in public gardens and squares of the capital city.

Smaller-scale mermaids were intended for indoor placement. Similarly to other small-scale terracottas, they express the sculptress’s desire for «an art that accompanies people in their daily lives» and reflect her belief that «terracotta sculpture is particularly well-suited to the current perceptions about home decoration». Characterised by bold simplification and stylisation, they echo folk pictorial models. They are sculpted in the round, or almost flat, often fully frontal, with a single or double tail, either bent back or to the side of the suspended body, or even curved, extending gracefully, long and lithe; on other occasions, flanking the body in a more rigid, stylised, static rendering.

Figures

Alongside pottery, since her student years Frosso Efthymiadi also pursued sculpture, working on specific themes, such as animals, birds, figures and busts. Her choice of subjects and use of terracotta until the mid-1950s reflects her perception of the intended role and function of sculpture, which she describes in an interview to Dimis Apostolopoulos for Ώρα τέχνης και επιστήμης (Art and Science Hour) radio show on December 16, 1954: … My aim is not monumental sculpture but art that accompanies people in their everyday life – something I think is missing in Greece. Furthermore, terracotta sculpture is particularly well-suited to the current perceptions of home decoration.

Figures, female in their majority, are among her most characteristic themes. They started from small-scale, decorative compositions and a series of Girls (Kores), simple everyday presences, often in a contemplative posture, which seeks to convey a romantic mood and emphasise feminine grace and finesse; moreover, stark presences that echo ancient models, such as Girl with Dove and Girl with Water Jar. During the same period, she also did nudes, some of which echo Aristide Maillol’s small-scale terracottas, as well as female dancers. After 1950, moreover, seeking to achieve a different effect, she began experimenting with hand-painting of sculptures, most of which had been produced in previous years. This experimentation did not last long; in her interview to Dimis Apostolopoulos in 1954, she remarked on the challenges: It was very common for the ancient Greeks, of course; for us, however, it presents a very complex challenge. My painted figure you see here is very elaborate, so as to be suitable for painting, as it is extremely risky to paint a realistically modelled figure.

Efthymiadi’s involvement with Girls and Nudes lasted from her student years in 1930-1933 to the early 1950s. In the early 1950s, she made a dramatic stylistic shift towards a very abstract direction. This shift first manifested itself in everyday women`s evocations in terracotta inspired by her travels in North Africa. Thus, realism was succeeded by a simplified, highly stylised, or suggestive rendering of the figures, in compositions such as the two Moroccan Figures, Mother and Child, Moroccan Figures and Women of Luxor, where the stylised djellabas envelop the void that evokes the body. Similar in style, Greek Shepherds are three totally sketchy yet still recognisable figures with crooks, in which the diamond-shaped capes envelop the void that, here too, evokes the body.

Mythological, Religious, Allegorical Themes

Alongside pottery, since her student years Frosso Efthymiadi also pursued sculpture, working on specific themes, such as animals, birds, figures and busts. Her choice of subjects and use of terracotta until the mid-1950s reflects her perception of the intended role and function of sculpture, which she describes in an interview to Dimis Apostolopoulosfor Ώρα τέχνης και επιστήμης (Art and Science Hour) radio show on December 16, 1954: «… My aim is not monumental sculpture but art that accompanies people in their everyday life – something I think is missing in Greece». Furthermore, terracotta sculpture is particularly well suited to the current perceptions about home decoration». Since the mid-1950s, she abandoned terracotta in favour of metal, forging by herself sheets or rods of brass and iron, which she then joined by welding or soldering. This technique she now used for all her works, including female figures, which developed from simple everyday presences and nudes into mythological, allegorical, or religious figures. Furthermore, the earlier realism was succeeded by a totally sketchy, suggestive rendering verging on abstraction; solid surfaces were penetrated by the void, which gradually became a key element in the compositions.

This thematic and stylistic evolution can be traced in works such as Sibylla, Sprite, Nymph, Lot’s Wife, Supplicants, Nikes. With the exceptions of Sibylla, with its balance of solid and void forms, of Suppliants and of Lot’s Wife, which is a magnification of a tiny shell into a solid marble volume to convey the static standing figure of the woman who became a pillar of salt, the rest of Efthymiadi’s works are composed of forged metal rods evoking the body by means of vacuum and are characterised by a strong rotational or impulsive forward motion. On the other hand, the sketches of Sibyl and Lot’s Wife, made of thin iron rods, which are the preliminary studies in space for the definitive works, provide a fuller picture of the creative process.

Dance

Alongside pottery, since her student years Frosso Efthymiadi also pursued sculpture, working on specific themes, such as animals, birds, figures and busts. Her choice of subjects and use of terracotta until the mid-1950s reflects her perception of the intended role and function of sculpture, which she describes in an interview to Dimis Apostolopoulos for Ώρα τέχνης και επιστήμης (Art and Science Hour) radio show on December 16, 1954: «… My aim is not monumental sculpture but art that accompanies people in their everyday life – something I think is missing in Greece». Furthermore,«terracotta sculpture is particularly well-suited to the current perceptions about home decoration».

Female figures are among her most characteristic subjects, including compositions on the theme of dance, which preoccupied the artist from the 1940s to the 1960s, and in which we can follow her development from the realistic style of the early terracottas to abstract treatment by the mid-1950s. Thus, Dancer in hammered brass, dating from the 1960s, is a very abstract version of the terracotta Dancer from the 1940s. On the other hand, the hammered bronze Ballerina (1959) on display at the Panathenaea of Contemporary Sculpture exhibition on Filopappou  in 1965, swirling balanced on one leg, brilliantly combines solid and void forms, verging on abstraction. Moreover, it is the culmination of the evocation of fleeting whirling motion, which began around 1956, with a small-scale Dancer in bronze and continued with the small-scale Ballerina almost a year later.

In addition to the individual figure, dance preoccupied Frosso Efthymiadi also in terms of a team endeavour. Inspired by a Minoan composition of the New Palace period on Crete, she produced in 1955 two very stylised and abstract small-scale compositions titled Dance and Greek Dance, before arriving at a similar, though flat, large-scale composition.

Abstraction

Since her student years, Frosso Efthymiadi also pursued sculpture alongside ceramics, working on specific topics, such as animals, birds, figures and busts. Until her compositions of the early 1950s, she had been a realist, but then made a dramatic shift towards a very abstract direction, which, since 1958, led to the production of abstract compositions, too. Furthermore, since 1955 she had shifted her focus from working on terracotta to working almost exclusively with forging metal. Using mainly brass and iron, or metal rods, she created abstract compositions, often resembling linear drawings in space, drawing on biomorphic shapes, or constructivist models, as well as from life. Accordingly, Chinatown is apparently inspired by Chinese ideograms, Totem of the Depths evokes vegetal patterns and Endless Spiral is reminiscent of Vladimir Tatlin’s Monument for the Third International. Her Study in Space, one of only two works she made in marble, is an abstract version of sails full of wind, which she then transferred using forged brass rods as a linear drawing in space in Movement into Space. Frosso Efthymiadi’s series of abstract compositions ended around 1971, when she created Labyrinth, a two-dimensional geometric construction resulting from the combination of repeating patterns of small brass plates, which was to be her last work.

Medals

Frosso Efthymiadi’s studio also contained some medal models for the City of Athens. It is likely that they were commissioned by Kostas Kotzias, who had served as mayor of Athens in 1934-1936 and again in 1951, as he had also commissioned some works in terracotta for outdoor installation in Athens. These medals come in different shapes, yet carry similar images: the cross on one side and the head of the city’s patron, the goddess Athena, on the other; in other words, a version of the emblem of the municipality to date.

Navigate to the thumbnails and see the evolution of the project Frosso Efthymiadi per decade.

View the development of her work by clicking here.