(New York 1922 - 1997 Ioannina)

Infinity Field Torino Series #1. 1985.

Acrylic on canvas.

Verso on the overlap signed, titled, dated and with measurements: "infinity field, Tornio Series" #1 1985 Stamos 72 x 60.

184 x 152.4 cm.

Provenance:
- Galerie Turske & Turske, Zurich.
- Purchased from the above by the present owner, since then private collection Switzerland.

In the mid 1980s Theodoros Stamos began his “Torino Series”, to which the present work belongs. Here, the Greek-American painter returns with powerful effect to his expressive-dynamic pictorial language. While his series of “Sun-Boxes” can be classified as Colour Field Painting, in the “Torino Series” he recalls his roots in Abstract Expressionism. Again and again, red and violet surfaces appear to battle their way forward through the all-pervading black. The dynamism and energy, emerging in this way, are typical of Stamos‘ works in the 1980s. In the violet forms we seem to recognise the influences of Surrealism, the fascination with amorphous figures and the interest in primeval times and mythology which shaped his early work.

Theodoros Stamos was born in New York in 1922, the son of a Greek immigrant. A bursary enabled him to study at the American Artist School, where he studied sculpture until 1939. Through his acquaintance with the artist group “The Ten” and his examination of the works of Milton Avery and Marsden Hartley, shortly before his graduation he turned to painting and abandoned his previous studies. He found refuge in various studios and quickly made the acquaintance with artists such as Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb and Barnett Newman. His first exhibition in 1943 at the Wakefield Gallery marked his breakthrough. He taught again and again at the now well-respected, but then progressive Black Mountain College. After losing the lawsuit against the children of his close friend Mark Rothko, Stamos faced financial ruin and returned to Greece.