64 - ALEXIS AKRITHAKIS (1939–1994)

ALEXIS AKRITHAKIS (1939–1994) Four Stories signed “Akrithakis” (center left), signed and dated “30.1.77/ 80 x 100 cm / Akrithakis / Athens” (on the back) oil on canvas 80 x 100 cm. (31.50 × 39.37 in.) oil on canvas Footnotes: Provenance Christie’s Greek Sale of April 29, 1996, lot 131. Acquired from the above sale by the present owner. I create stories with pictures. A. Akrithakis A charismatic image maker, Akrithakis invites us into an enchanting world of bold shapes and striking colors imbued with a dreamlike quality and childlike wonder. “A rousing cheerfulness emanates from his images—an infectious cheerfulness inviting us to enter a multicolored amusement park whose brilliant lights set off emotions.”1 As noted by A. Papazacharias, who co-curated the artist’s recent retrospective at the Benaki Museum, “Akrithakis’s stories represent an iconic approach to pictorial narrative, executed with a geometry that simultaneously delineates space and time. Within these stories, recurring symbols and motifs are transformed into eloquent statements through a process akin to both comic strips and dictionary entries.”2 Demonstrating a rich and highly imaginative ability to create myths, this captivating work features Akrithakis’s signature image—his emblematic suitcase—which conveys the artist’s escapist fantasies and lifelong quest for adventure and freedom.3 1. C. Joachimides, “Wonderings of a Daydreamer” [in Greek] in Akrithakis, exhibition catalog, Goethe Institute, Athens 1968. 2. A. Papazacharias, “Analysis by Sight” in Alexis Akrithakis, a Line Wave [in Greek], exhibition catalog, Benaki Museum, Athens 2026, p. 15. 3. See D. Zacharopoulos, “An Unexpected Glimmer over the Abyss or the Artistic Oeuvre of Alexis Akrithakis,” in Alexis Akrithakis, exhibition catalog, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin 2003, p. 143. 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