Alekos Fassianos was born in Athens in 1935. He studied violin at the Athens Conservatory and painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1956 to 1960, under the guidance of Yiannis Moralis. He studied ancient Greek vase painting and Byzantine iconography. He also took lithography classes at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, with a scholarship from the French government (1962-1964), working with Clairin and Dayez. In 1966, he settled in Paris, and 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 worldwide.
Fassianos also worked on printmaking, poster design, and set design, collaborating mainly with the National Theatre of Athens (Kafka’s “America” directed by Alexis Solomos, 1975, Euripides’ “Helen,” 1976, Aristophanes’ “The Birds,” 1978, among others). He illustrated numerous books by famous poets and writers in Greece and abroad, and he also designed Greek stamps, including one of the series for the Athens Olympic Games (2004).
He has also published his own works, both prose and poetry. Four films have been made about his work for Greek and French television, and there are monographs documenting his artistic output.
Fassianos’ distinctive style emerged in the early 1960s. Three main themes remained consistent throughout his career: the human figure, nature, and the environment. His study of Greek culture and his involvement with graphic arts and printmaking influenced his paintings. In his early works, the figure of the officer dominates, with puffed red cheeks, flamboyant epaulets on his uniform, and a humorously imposing demeanor. Gradually, his figures became more animated and took on a life of their own. They formed pairs that filled the space, barely touching each other but remaining united in a single mass through their design.
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