Nikos
Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas (1906-1994)
"Even in Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas' brightest, clearest and most
clean-cut compositions, there nestles a mystery. It is a fresh,
familiar kind of mystery which we greet with relief, because
it belongs to us." Thus Nobel laureate poet Odysseas
Elytis described Ghikas - one of the most representative
Greek painters of the '30s generation.
Ghikas reinvented cubism, thanks to the "cubist aura" of the Greek landscape. Ghikas applied
a post-cubist aesthetic to the Greek landscape, translating winding roads, cobbled streets, houses on hillsides,
and rocky terrain into geometric shapes and lines, using a kaleidoscope of intense colours.
Ghikas' use of colour is exceptional, with pale pastels contrasting with dark lines. Geometry and dynamic
brushstrokes fuse into a complex composition that points towards a modernist "art for art's sake" credo, but
also displays the artist's love for the wild Greek landscape.
Born to a wealthy family from the island of Hydra ,
the bespectacled and all but athletic young Ghikas would spend
his summer holidays on Hydra , which later figured
heavily in his works. Ghikas' father - an officer in the Royal
Navy - was upset to discover that his short-sighted son could
not follow in his military footsteps. In 1921, Ghikas began
taking private art lessons from acclaimed painter Konstandinos
Parthenis (1878-1967) - a Greek landscape artist
influenced by fauvism and expressionism.
In 1923, Ghikas left for Paris to study at the Sorbonne. After his debut at the Salon Des Independents, Ghikas
soon left the Sorbonne for the Academie Ranson. In 1926, he abandoned art school and Paris to pursue his love for
Antigone (Tingi) Boubouli in Greece. But Ghikas continued to exhibit in Paris, to great acclaim. Picasso
characterised Ghikas' art as one of "high ethics" , while architect Le Corbusier was another enthusiast.
In 1934, Ghikas met Vassily Kandinsky , founder
of the Blue Rider ( "Blaue Reiter" ) art
group. In 1946, he participated in an exhibition featuring
six contemporary Greek artists at London's Royal Academy of
Art. The same year, the British Council organised his first
retrospective show in Athens. In 1950, Ghikas represented
Greece at the 25th Venice Biennale. In 1968, London's Whitechapel
Gallery organised a retrospective with 100 of his paintings.
In 1973, the National
Gallery of Greece organised another retrospective,
followed by the Royal Academy of Art in London in 1988.
Ghikas died on September 3, 1994, at home in Athens.
