Nikolaou Nikos
He was born in 1909 in Hydra. Originally, his artistic inclination became apparent when he was working at the folk art store of his mother in Plaka (Athens). In 1929 he entered the Athens School of Fine Arts to study painting with Argyros and Parthenis. Soon, he began to participate in exhibitions and in 1935 he became member of the art group Free Artists.
In 1937, he left for Paris and Rome in order to continue his studies, sharing the scholarship of his close friend, Yannis Moralis. Having close friendships with peer artists was always one of the dominant characteristics of his personality. While in Paris, he became familiar with the art of Galanis and Derain, like most painters of the ‘30s generation. The War of 1940 forced him to return to Athens, where he worked, appraising and conserving artworks.
After the war, he devoted himself to painting. He co-founded the art group Armos and organized his first solo exhibition in Athens (Romvos gallery, 1948). His art had become mature by then and indicated his interest in female figures and disciplined drawing. At the same time, he started to create significant egg temperas murals with or frescoes in various public buildings, and also undertook the stage design of several theater performances (from 1954 onwards).
His painting work is inspired primarily by nature, but also by archaic art forms, from which it borrows its expressive simplicity of design and the flat earthly colours. The abstractionism of a modern style is combined with the greek light’s clear line.