Greek Art, Public and Private, by Yannis Tsarouchis

Yannis Tsarouchis, Winds/ Kaikiias and Zefyros, 1966, oil and acrylic on cement tile, Private Collection, USA. ©Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Wrightwood 659 is hosting the first U.S. exhibition devoted to the work of Yannis Tsarouchis (1910-1989), widely regarded as one of the greatest Greek painters of the 20th century. On view May 7-July 31, 2021, the exhibition will feature some 200 works, including paintings and works on paper from public and private collections in Greece and internationally. Together, these span the entire arc of the artist's career, showing how he absorbed and transformed influences including Ancient Greek and Early Christian art; Byzantine mosaics, frescoes, and icon painting; Greek vernacular traditions: costume, ornament and shadow theater Karaghiozis; and also the new languages of modern art: Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism. During the military junta rule in Greece between 1967 and 1974, Tsarouchis worked in self-exile in Paris; in 1981 he established the Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation in Athens, which is to this day dedicated to the preservation and advancement of his work.

Yannis Tsarouchis: Dancing in Real Life
Wrightwood 659, 659 W. Wrightwood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614
Fridays and Saturdays, May 7 - July 31, 2021

wrightwood659.org

Yannis Tsarouchis, Departure with Oval Mirror, 1970, oil on canvas, 110 x 209 cm, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

(Detail) Departure with Oval Mirror, 1970, oil on canvas, 110 x 209 cm, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Yianni Tsarouchis, Military Policeman Arresting the Spirit, 1965, watercolor and pencil on paper, 32.5 x 24.7, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Yannis Tsarouchis, Dancing in real life and in theatre, 1963-68, oil on canvas, 60 x 212.5 cm, Collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation (with detail inserts)

Yannis Tsarouchis, Nude zeimbekiko dancer, 1974, gouache on paper, 39.3 x 18.4 cm, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Yannis Tsarouchis, Semi-nude pianist, 1969, gouache on paper, 30.7 x 30. 6 cm, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Yannis Tsarouchis, Study of Korina for Autumn by candle light, 1970-71, oil on paper, 60.5 x 42 cm, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Yannis Tsarouchis, Two Studies for the Same Subject - Three Dancers in Blue Jeans and Two Fingures of Eros with Green Doors, 1978, gouache on paper, 31.5 x 46 cm, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Yannis Tsarouchis, Tsamiko dance on the shore, 1978, gouache on paper, 20.7 x 20 cm, collection of Yannis Tsarouchis Foundation

Yianni Tsarouchis, Alexandras Square in Piraeus, 1962, pigments mixed with animal glue on canvas, 88,5 x 158.5cm, collection of Yiannis Tsarouchis Foundation