He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts. In 1959, he moved to Paris, where he lived and worked throughout his life. His exhibition activity dates from the Greek National exhibition in 1939; his work has been shown in solo, Greek national and group exhibitions in Greece and other countries, while in 1959 he participated in the Biennale of Sao Paulo.
One of the artists who introduced Abstract Art in Greece, he gradually moved away from figuration towards Gestural Expressionism. He later began to create geometric reliefs, while eventually adopting the precepts of Op Art, combining them with elements of American Pre-Columbian art.

Under the conventional name of “Painter of the Crucifixion of Pesaro,” Miklos Boskovits (in M. Laclotte- E. Mognetti, Inventaire des collections publiques francaise. Avignon, Musee du Petit Palais. Peinture Italienne, Paris 1987, p. 138) gathered a small number of works by a follower of Lorenzo Veneziano, of unknown name. The work of this “obscure” artist is distinguished by a constant searching to capture impressions and a kind of eccentric primitivism, which help convince us that this artist’s production was not intended so much for Venice as for the regional territories of the republic. Dating from ca 1400, this artist’s most famous work is the Cross in the Episcopal Hall in Pesaro (Minardi 1998, p. 226-227), characterised by its crude and bold style.

Zanino di Pietro was one of the best-known painters in Venice in the first quarter of the 15th century. From 1389 until 1406, he worked in Bologna and then moved to Venice until his death, around 1448. Confusion surrounds his identity, due to the intimate relation of his painting style with that of the painter Giovanni di Pietro Charlier, of French origin, also known as Giovanni di Francia. The French dictionary Benezit and the German dictionary Thieme-Becker refer to him as Giovannino di Pietro da Venezia. Based on an observation by F. Zeri (Aggiunte a Zanino di Pietro, Paragone, 1962), Serena Padovani proposes to identify Zanino di Pietro as Giovanni di Francia (Una nuova proposta per Zanino di Pietro, Paragone, Anno XXXVI, gennaio-maggio 1985, p. 73-80), a view now adopted by most other scholars.

GEORGIOS FYTALIS
Isternia, Tinos 1830 – 1880

LAZAROS FYTALIS
Isternia, Tinos 1831 – Athens 1909

Two out of five brothers, descendants of a great family of artists, they enrolled in the School of Arts in 1846 and studied sculpture with Christian Siegel. While still students, they worked together, producing works in various parts of Greece. In 1856, they participated in the Kontostavleios competition and shared the first award of one thousand drachmas for their work “Shepherd carrying a kid”. In 1858, they established their own studio, which became a true school for many of the sculptors of the younger generation.

Georgios Fytalis graduated from the School of Arts in 1857. During the same year, he participated once again in the Kontostavleios competition, earning a prize of one thousand drachmas. The following year, he was appointed professor at the School of Arts, a post he served until 1868, when he was replaced by Leonidas Drossis. In 1860, he was nominated member of the Greek Archaeological Society. He had a close association with Lyssandros Kaftantzoglou; alone, or in cooperation with his brother Lazaros, he produced many of Kaftantzoglou’s sculptural designs.

Lazaros Fytalis graduated from the School of Arts in 1851 and a few years later went to Paris, where he worked with the French sculptor Charles Cordier. In 1857, he participated in the international competition for the Wellington memorial to be built in London. In 1879, he participated in the excavation that brought to light the Lion monument at Chaironeia and subsequently submitted a plan for its restoration, which was not adopted. During 1902-1904, though, on Lazaros Sochos’s initiative, Lazaros Fytalis did participate in the restoration of the monument; in 1884, he was assigned with the conservation of the Kerameikos Bull.

The joint exhibition activity of the Fytalis brothers includes contributions to group exhibitions in Greece and international ones. Their works were shown at the London International Exhibitions in 1851 and 1862, in the 1855 and 1857 Paris International Exhibition (Lazaros’s only) as well as in the Olympia exhibitions in Athens in 1859, when they received a prize, and 1870, when they received an honorary distinction for their work as marble importers.

With their studies at the School of Arts and their familiarity with European sculpture, the Fytalis brothers had at their disposal a wide array of models from which to draw from and create compositions on mythological, allegorical and genre themes, funerary monuments, statues and busts. The works emanating from their studio are characterized by their commitment to the neoclassicist ideals, their idealistic and idealized expression as well as their adoption of realistic elements. The latter are more frequent in Georgios Fytalis’s compositions, also distinguished for their plasticity, the equilibrium of forms and the overall absence of any cold neoclassicism; in Lazaros’s work, however, idealistic features and a precise draftsmanship prevail.

He studied fine arts and architecture in Milan. Since 1954, he has lived in London and Florence. He has also lived in Cyprus and Greece.

The first show of his work took place in 1959 in Leicester Galleries, followed by numerous solo exhibitions in various European cities.
He has also participated in group exhibitions abroad, while in 1976 he represented Greece at the Venice Biennale along with Aglaia Lyberaki.

Michael Michaeledes’ painting initially focused on the human being and everyday life but since around 1959 he has gradually turned to abstract works, in which the artist explores light patterns. Since 1964, he has been regularly involved with relief. Using canvas on wood frame, he has produced a multitude of constructions which extend freely in space, animated by the interplay of light and shadow.

She studied drawing with Tassos Rigas and painting with Dimosthenis Kokkinidis at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1978-1983). She went on to attend the Advanced Course, St Martin’s School of Art (1983-1984), with professors Simon Marsden and Jennifer Durrant.

Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions, including exhibitions at the Athens Municipal Art Centre and the House of Cyprus (Embassy of Cyprus Cultural Centre in Athens).

In her manifold creative work, in which sculpture, painting and environments are harmoniously combined, prevails a dialectic relation between being and seeming, essence and surface. Her human figures as well as vividly coloured wood, paper and textile “sculpture boxes” aim to evoke a poetic atmosphere.

At the age of eight, he enrolled in the Valencia Arts and Crafts School, where he received his first drawing and painting lessons. After completing his secondary education, he enrolled in 1968 in the Valencia School of Fine Arts, in which he studied until 1969. In 1969-1974, he studied Architecture at the Superior Technical School of Architecture in Valencia and went on to postgraduate studies in Urban Planning. He then received his degree in Civil Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich (1975-1979), followed by a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences at the ETH Department of Architecture (1979-1981). In 1981, he established his first office in Zurich. In 1989, he established an office in Paris and in 1991 in Valencia.

He has received a great number of awards and medals, including the Artists’ Award of the City of Barcelona for the Bach-de-Roda Bridge (1988), the Silver Medal for Research and Technique of the Fondation Academie d’Architecture (1970), the Gold Medal of the London Institute of Structural Engineers (1992), the Gold Medal for Distinction in Fine Arts by the Spanish Ministry of Culture (1996), as well as the Exitos 2000 Award for his Valencia Museum of Sciences (2001). He is a fellow in several universities in Europe and the United States as well as member of many organisations, including the International Architecture Academy (1987), the Royal Institute of British Architects (1993) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (1999).

With wide-ranging interests (architecture, sculpture and design) and drawing inspiration from numerous sources (sculptor Konstantin Brancusi, architect Antonio Gaudi, Gothic art, and above all nature), Santiago Calatrava produces works of imposing aesthetic qualities, which blend harmoniously with their surroundings. Starting from drawing and sculpture, he creates forms which evolve into architectural structures – bridges, airports, railway stations, museums, opera houses – and whose extraordinary, minimal style echoes organic forms. Never opting for functionalism at the expense of aesthetics, and with evident awareness of the construction media, he designs buildings of dynamic forms, distinguished for their harmony and lightness.

He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1957-1962) under Yannis Moralis and engraving under Kostas Grammatopoulos. In 1966, on a scholarship from the State Scholarship Service, he went to Paris where he studied fresco and mosaic at the School of Fine Arts until 1969. Returning to Greece he taught drawing and color for many years at private schools, while at the same time involving himself with set design and book illustration.

He began to exhibit in 1960 and this activity now includes both solo presentations and appearances in Panhellenies and group exhibitions of painting and engraving in Greece and abroad.

His work, characterized by a personal style in which are combined elements of figurative and abstract painting, includes compositions of a surrealist character in which color plays an important role, contributing to the creation of a poetic and dream-like atmosphere.

After completing his studies at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1967 – 1972), he completed post-graduate studies at Boston University (1979 – 1982). During 1983 – 1991, he taught at the 4th Painting Workshop at the Athens School of Fine Arts. His work has been presented in group exhibitions (Zoumboulakis 1987, Lindblom, Helsinki 1990, Ileana Tounta 1991, 1995) and group exhibitions.

In his work, consisting of painting, constructions, environments and using materials such as coal, burnt wood or paper, and soil, the figuration is treated as a “conceptual” idea, expressing the artist’s anxiety in the face of the world and his future (“Mountains series”, “Trees series”).