Vlassis CANIARIS, 1928-2011 Untitled with red... Lot 27

Vlassis CANIARIS, 1928-2011 Untitled with red carnations and barbed wire plaster model in two parts, red textile and metal (accidents, soiling and small dents), signed and dated on each. Height: 17.5 cm 26 x 15 cm. The red carnation is the symbol of resistance to the coup d'état of April 21, 1967, a military putsch that led to the exile of King Constantine II and the establishment of the colonels' dictatorship until 1974. Born in Athens, Greece, in 1928, Vlassis Caniaris abandoned his medical studies in 1950 to enroll at the School of Fine Arts. His first solo exhibition took place in 1958 at the Zygos Gallery in Athens. From 1960 to 1966 he moved to Paris, where he met Pierre Restany (critic and founder of the Nouveau Réalisme movement). A major retrospective of his work was held in Stockholm at the Moderna Museet in 1971. The highly suggestive works of this artist, involved in a political struggle in his homeland, were exhibited in numerous museums around the world (Paris, The Hague, London, Berlin, Athens, Stockholm, etc.). Plaster is a cheap, easy-to-work, fast-drying material. Its lividity can only be enhanced by the carnation, which in the Mediterranean is a symbol of life and resistance. Vlassis Caniaris at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1970. Provenance: Henry GALY-CARLES Collection