Vakalo Georgios

After his early studies in painting and the miniature, under Lysandros Prasinos in Constantinople (Istanbul), he studied at the School of Decorative Arts and private academies in Paris (1922-1928). He also studied stage design at the Theater School of Charles Dullin and under Ladislas Medgyes. As a stage designer, both abroad and, after his return to Greece in 1940, on the Greek stage, he worked with the important names in the field such as Cocteau, Barrault, Saint Denis, Koun, Veakis, and Kotopouli. Among the distinctions he received in France were 1st prize at the Carmine Exhibition in Paris and the decoration of the Legion of Honor (1953). In 1957 he founded the first school of decorative art in Greece together with Panayiotis Tetsis, Frantzis Frantziskakis and his wife Eleni Vakalo. In 1967 he took part in the Alexandria Biennale, while presenting his works in solo shows and many group and Panhellenies exhibitions. He was a founding member of the Spirit-Level group.

His painting, where a melodic line, tasteful color and a flair for decoration play the leading role, is distinguished by a personal surrealism and is charcaterized by an imaginative, dream-like atmosphere with a strong poetic cast.