Lot 60: AR Yerassimos Sklavos (Greek, 1927-1967) Elegance 90 x 31 x 27 cm.

Yerassimos Sklavos
(Greek, 1927-1967)
Elegance signed 'SKLAVOS' (on the lower part)granite90 x 31 x 27 cm.

A masterpiece from the artist's estate whose purity of sculptural lines and endless interplay of light and shadow evoke the fluted columns of ancient Greek temples,1 Elegance breathes life into the rigid matter, extracting from it its maximum effect and submitting it to the reflections of the artist's imagination. A restless spirit and a questioning and inventive sculptor who never ceased to experiment with different ways of handling his material, in 1960 Sklavos patented a technique of cutting stone using an oxy-acetylene flame and held his first solo exhibition the following year, becoming an overnight international sensation. "After Giacometti's death, Sklavos is the greatest living sculptor" Christian Zervos said in 1966,2 while French President Jacques Chirac named him "Maitre de l' Ecole de Paris", noting that his exceptional work revealed the supremacy of artistic instinct.1. See R. Cogniat, as quoted in Sklavos [in Greek], exhibition catalogue, Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens 1981.2. As quoted in Sklavos.