Light up my thoughts

Alekos Fasianos was born in Athens in 1935. He studied the violin at the Athens Conservatory and painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1956–1960, G. Moralis’s studio). He developed a passion for and studied ancient Greek vase painting and Byzantine iconography. He attended lithography classes at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, on a French government scholarship (1962–1964), under Clairin and Dayez. In 1966 he settled in Paris, whilst since 1974 he has lived and worked between Paris and Athens. Since 1959, the year of his first solo exhibition in Athens, he has held more than seventy solo exhibitions in Athens, Thessaloniki, Paris, Munich, Tokyo, Hamburg, Zurich, Milan, Beirut, Stockholm, London and elsewhere. He has repeatedly participated in group exhibitions and renowned international events across the globe. Notable among these are: Salon comparaisons (Paris 1970), the São Paulo Biennial (1971) and the Venice Biennale (1972), the Baden-Baden Graphics Biennale (1985) and others. Fasianos also worked in printmaking, poster design and stage design, collaborating mainly with the National Theatre of Athens (Kafka’s “America”, 1975; Euripides’ “Helen”, 1976, Aristophanes’ “The Birds”, 1978, etc.). He undertook the illustration of several books, in Greece and abroad, by well-known poets and writers. Notable among these are O. Elytis, L. Aragon, G. Apollinaire, K. Tachtsis, K. Kavafis, A. Embeirikos, G. Ritsos, V. Vasilikos and others. His works also feature in special art publications, such as albums on architectural landscapes, cityscapes, etc. He has also published his own writings, both prose and poetry. Four films have been made about his entire body of work for Greek and French television, whilst monographs on his visual art are in circulation.