Konstantin Kakanias, Contemporary Gouache Painting Earthquake II, Greek Ruins, Monuments of Greece, c.1992

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Les Ruines Des Plus Beaux Monuments De La Grece both 22 3/4" x 34" (sight) oil with arabesque artist identified … Read more Les Ruines Des Plus Beaux Monuments De La Grece both 22 3/4" x 34" (sight) oil with arabesque artist identified on label verso. #27, Earthquake II, From 1992 show; Night Paintings, Galerie Pierre Passebon, Paris, France, Les Ruines des Plus Beaux Monuments de la Grèce, Stubbs Books & Prints, New York Konstantin Kakanias (born September 18, 1961 in Athens) is a contemporary Greek painter, illustrator and multimedia artist. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles and Greece. Throughout his career Kakanias has created drawings, paintings, sculptures, performances, ceramics and books. Kakanias' work does not belong to any single style. He is known to explore a range of themes in his work from the light and comic to the dark and psychological. Kakanias attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, majoring in Textile Design, from 1977-1979. Kakanias moved to Paris in 1979. He attended the Studio Berçot where he studied Fashion and Art. He was also taught by the Italian artist and stage designer Lila de Nobili. Kakanias started his career at 22, working as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines such as French Vogue and Vogue Italia. He created textile designs for Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix. 1984, Kakanias moved to Luxor, Egypt to study Ancient Egyptian art and remained there for a year. His art has been influenced by this experience. "Echoes of pharaohs and hieroglyphs reverberate in many of Kakanias' drawings today." In 1988, Kakanias moved back to New York City where he collaborated with Tiffany and Barneys New York. His drawings were published by The New York Times and Vanity Fair. In 1991 he dedicated himself completely to making art. In 1995 he had a breakthrough exhibition "No More Stains" at the Postmasters Gallery in New York with sculptures and a performance. In 1996 Kakanias introduced his fictional heroine Mrs.Tependris for an illustrated New York Times Magazine article. Mrs. Tependris, Kakanias' "alter-ego," is a caricature of an art collector and a high society doyenne who Kakanias uses as "a metaphor for the state of contemporary art and its superficial reception by the public". Mrs. Tependris has become a cult figure in the art community. In 1997 he created his first book Freedom or Death based on the adventures of Mrs. Tependris. Kakanias moved to Los Angeles in 1997. For several years he continued working on the adventures of Mrs. Tependris and in 2002 published Mrs. Tependris: the Contemporary Years. In 2004 Kakanias was commissioned by the Greek Ministry of Culture to create a book for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Kakanias has exhibited around the world in museums and galleries, notably "Time Goes By So Slowly" at the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art in 2006 and "A Tribute to Antonis Benakis" at the Benaki Museum in 2004-5. In 2008 he collaborated with Diane von Fürstenberg to create the comic book Be The Wonder Woman You Can Be. (DC Comics 2008). He has done numerous private commissions. In 2004 Kakanias frescoed a church in Spain for Carolina Herrera Jr. Publications Freedom or Death. Jane Stubbs. 1997. Mrs. Tependris: the Contemporary Years. Rizzoli International. 2002. Mrs. Tependris just before the Olympic games in Athens 2004. Published by the Greek Ministry of Culture, 2004. Untitled III (Parade) limited edition. Kalfayan galleries. 2008. Select Exhibitions The Times, Gavlak, Los Angeles, CA, Rebecca Camhi Gallery Split Kalfayan Galleries, Association of the International Thessaloniki Film Festival Thirty Nine (Anna Wintour Glasses), Rebecca Camhi Gallery Pearl’s Dreams, Light Box Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Time goes by …. so slowly (after Madonna), Installation at the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens with the collaboration of Kalfayan Galleries Her Hollywood Years: Part II, Galerie Jennifer Flay, Paris, France Flashbacks, Works On Paper, Inc., Los Angeles, CA Paintings, Paul Kasmin, New York, NY A collector? A doyenne? A muse? An artist? – But who is she?, Postmasters Gallery, New York, NY Konstantin Kakanias, Postmasters Gallery, New York , NY Bastille Day, Stubbs Books & Prints, New York, NY Night Paintings, Galerie Pierre Passebon, Paris, France Les Ruines des Plus Beaux Monuments de la Grèce, Stubbs Books & Prints, New York Select Group Exhibitions Feels Like Heaven, Somer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel The Newspaper Show, The Breeder gallery, Athens, Greece Contemporary woman in Greece, The Hub, curator: Marina Fokidis, Athens, Greece Consider The Oyster, James Graham and Sons Gallery, Curated by Ingrid Dinter, New York, NY Common Objects, Dinter Fine Art, New York, NY Giorgio de Chirico Art Foundation, Volos, Greece Pleasure Treasure: Recent Acquisitions from the Collections of Eileen and Peter Norton, Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Gallery, California State University, Los Angeles, CA Benefit Exhibition, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY Donald Baechler, Nancy Rubins and Konstantin Kakanias, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY Body Parts, Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York, NY Bibliography Francois Jonquet " La forêt ou nous pleurons" 2008 Nathan Cooper "Konstantin's empire" C magazine , April 2006 David Rimanelli, “Ars Immaculata.” Going On About Town. The New Yorker, May 22, 1995 Gavin Lambert, Introduction for the book Mrs. Tependris just before the Olympics , published by the Greek Ministry of Culture Hamish Bowles, Introduction for the book Her Contemporary Years Rizzoli International 2002 Alexandra Koroxenidis, “Putting oneself in the picture: The life of a fictional art collector“ Kathimerini-International Herald Tribune English edition, May 20, 2002 Alexandra Koroxenidis, “A cult figure's latest adventures, Kathimerini-International Herald Tribune See less