1 - NIKOS HADJIKYRIAKOS-GHIKA (1906–1994)

NIKOS HADJIKYRIAKOS-GHIKA (1906–1994) Interior, Hydra—Jug and Glass on a Table signed “Ghika” (lower right) gouache on paper 49 x 38.5 cm. (19.3 × 15.2 in.) Painted in 1951 gouache on paper Footnotes: Provenance Private collection, USA. Private collection, Athens. Literature K.C. Valkana, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, His Painting Oeuvre, Benaki Museum edition, Athens 2011, no. 182, p. 285 (cataloged and illustrated). Bathed in light and glittering like a Byzantine mosaic, this mesmerizing still life of silhouetted forms and rhythmic patterns speaks to us in a language of contentment and joie de vivre, reflecting the artist’s upbringing in an age-old tradition of dazzling light and pure color. “I suppose that the colorist in me is the real Ghika, something I derive from my Greek heritage, as opposed to all that I owe to Cubism and the School of Paris.”1 This display of fascination with color, along with the linear arrangement of objects, the symmetry and rhythm of the composition, and the projection of all elements onto a uniform and evenly lit plane where everything is clearly visible, is akin to the pictorial world of folk art and reminiscent of the powerful immediacy and disarming sincerity of Theofilos’s paintings. Moreover, on a deeper level, this work also reveals an intricate tapestry of sophistication, reflecting Ghika’s fascination with still life’s capacity to transcend the constraints of time and space, as well as to move across different levels of reality and artifice. As noted by art historian Y. Kolokotronis, “Ghika revitalizes the still-life genre, delving deeper than any other artist into its relationship with the surrounding environment.”2 The mirror motif, which features prominently in Ghika’s earlier Cubist-like interior views and still lifes,³ plays a leading compositional role in expanding shallow space, while evoking a sense of mystery and contemplative introspection. 1. E. Roditi, “An Interview with Ghika,” *Charioteer Quarterly*, vol. 1, no. 2, Fall 1960, p. 56. 2. Y. Kolokotronis, Still Life in Modern Greek Art from the 19th Century to Date [in Greek], doctoral dissertation, Athens 1992, p. 103. 3. Compare *Interior with Mirror and Vase*, 1926, and *Still Life with Vase*, 1927, sold by Bonhams, Greek Sale, November 21, 2018, lots 4 and 5. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR AR Items subject to the artist’s resale royalty, payable by the buyer. For further information on this lot, please visit Bonhams.com