70 - ALEXIS AKRITHAKIS (1939-1994)

ALEXIS AKRITHAKIS (1939-1994) Rede in dem irrsinn der dich befallen hat (Parle dans la folie qui s'est emparée de toi) signé et daté « AKRITHAKIS 27.3.69 BERLIN» (en bas a droite) et titré en grec (en bas à gauche) detrempe et encre sur carton 100 x 150 cm. (39.37 × 59.06 in.) Peint en 1969. tempera and ink on cardboard Footnotes: Provenance Private collection, Germany. Exhibitions Berlin, Galerie Mikro in collaboration with Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienst, Alexis Akrithakis, 1969, no. 25 (listed in the exhibition cataogue). Akrithakis's compositions seem to rise like colourful lava from the ground with the richness of patterns of spontaneous crystals. Nanos Valaoritis A recently discovered masterpiece brought to light from the quiet shadows of a collector's attic near Leipzig, this flamboyant and highly original composition was exhibited at the artist's historic first show in Berlin, where he had been residing since 1968 under a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship. As noted by the late art critic D. Zacharopoulos, Akrithakis's temperas from that period were explosive and dazzling in colour and form, and particularly original for their time.1 Handled in the spirit of pop art and automatic surrealism, which foreshadowed the graffiti-inspired art of Keith Haring, this imaginary microcosm of striking colours and bold shapes is endowed with a dreamy quality and childlike wonder. A microcosm in flowing motion, in constant action-a quotidian baroque feast unfurls before us, revealing images of a first-hand experience of the world-as in a dream.2 The black-and-white border framing the main composition is made in the artist's famous and highly personal tsiki-tsiki technique-a name used to describe the sound of pen or charcoal on paper as he drew these curly scribbles in his quiet studio.3 Drawing from surrealism's automatic gestures and echoing the playful doodles usually marked on teenage notepads and textbooks, tsiki-tsiki reflects the importance of writing throughout Akrithakis's career: 'In painting, words are redundant; in poetry, drawings are redundant; yet you design a poem, you write a painting.' Note that the painting's title inscribed on the lower left is included as an organic part of the picture. 1. See D. Zacharopoulos, 'An Unexpected Glimmer over the Abyss or the Artistic Oeuvre of Alexis Aktrithakis', in Alexis Akrtithakis, exhibition catalogue, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin 2003, p. 143. 2. C. Joachimides, 'Wonderings of a Daydreamer' [in Greek] in Akrithakis, exhibition catalogue, Goethe Institute, Athens 1968. 3. See R. Wiegenstein 'Some Reflection on Alexis Akrithakis' in Alexis Akrithakis, Neue Nationalgalerie, p. 145. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR AR Marchandises soumises au droit de suite de l'artiste payable par l'acheteur. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com