Le fumeur de cigarette et le cheval, ca., 1990

Alekos Fassianos   Emerging artists

Born in Athens in 1935, Alekos Fassianos is a Greek painter. A former student of the School of Fine Arts of Athens, the artist continued his studies in Paris thanks to a scholarship granted to him by the French government from 1960 to 1963. When he came back to his hometown he was removed by the dictatorship of 1967.

In 2025, Alekos Fassianos's legacy continues to shine with the exhibition "Alekos Fassianos: Sailing to Byzantium" at the historic Zeyrek Çinili Hamam in Istanbul. Running until February 22, this showcase, curated in collaboration with the Alekos Fassianos Museum and Estate, presents never-before-seen works, including a tribute to Istanbul. Set within a newly discovered Byzantine cistern, the exhibition highlights Fassianos's mastery of Greek mythology and Mediterranean themes. This event reaffirms his enduring influence in contemporary art and cements his place among the greats of modern Greek painting.

Paris facilitated Fassianos's entry into the cultural scene of 1960 to 1963. He mingled with Louis Aragon and the former director of Villa Médicis, Jean-Marie Drot, who observed Fassianos's work in the piece "Mythological voluptuousness".

The artist devoted himself to lithography when he arrived in Paris. His works portray motifs from mythology, Greek gods and our modern world. His tales converge around the subject of the Mediterranean in gold and bluish shades. The critic Gérard Xuriguera said: "His opulent Venus, bathed by the Mediterranean sun, speaks to us of its country, of the touching casualness of a peaceful and joyful existence that escapes in the marvelous."

In 1966, Alekos Fassianos saw success as he exhibited his work at the Facchetti Gallery in New York. Since then, he exhibited worldwide, from New York, Tokyo, Stockholm, and especially in Paris, to the biennales in Venice and São Paulo. Alekos Fassianos died in 2022 in Papagou, a suburb of Athens, leaving behind a lasting legacy.