NIKOS HADJIKYRIAKOS-GHIKA (1906-1994) The Stream II
NIKOS HADJIKYRIAKOS-GHIKA (1906-1994)
The Stream II
signé et daté "Ghika 77" en bas à droite
signé, daté et titré "Ghika 77 / The Stream II" au revers
acrylique sur toile
51 x 102 cm. (20 1/16 x 40 3/16in.)
signed and dated "Ghika 77" lower right; signed, dated and titled "Ghika 77 / The Stream II" on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
Exhibitions
London, New Art Center, Ghika, February 8-March 4, 1978.
Literature
K.C. Valkana, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, His Painting Oeuvre, Benaki Museum edition, Athens 2011, fig. 476, p. 238 (mentioned), p. 310 (illustrated).
A luxuriant work of explosive vibe and paganistic feel, Stream II aptly illustrates Ghika's mystical connection to nature. Rocks, plants, and water are engaged in a Dionysian ritual, constantly transformed from shapes to allusions, so that the whole composition is immersed in a perpetually changing and revived atmosphere. However, Ghika was not only interested in the landscape's constant movement and dynamic elusiveness but also sought to capture its everlasting structure; to convey both the reality of the changing atmospheric effects and the reality of the rocky terrain, which stands forever, weathering the next storm as it has weathered millions before.
The work's tender convolutions and fragile gestures allude to the mystical world of oriental calligraphy, which the artist became acquainted with on his journey to Japan in 1958, when he visited the USA at the invitation of the State Department and returned to Greece by way of the Far East. As noted by K.C. Valkana, who wrote the artist's monograph, "throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Ghika remained fixated on nature, selecting subjects that are high up in the hierarchy of Sino-Japanese landscape painting. Many of his views depict mountains, rocks, hills, trails, caves, rivers, and torrents, which are common subjects in shan-shui landscapes, as they bring together two basic elements of nature—the water, symbol of fluidity, and the mountain, symbol of stability—and thus express universal mobility, the interaction of positive and negative energies, yin and yang."1
1. K.C. Valkana, "The Far East and its Timeless Allure in the Painting of Ghika" in Ghika, a Journey from East to West, exhibition catalogue, Benaki Museum, Athens 2024, p. 335.
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NIKOS HADJIKYRIAKOS-GHIKA (1906-1994)
The Stream II
signé et daté "Ghika 77" en bas à droite
signé, daté et titré "Ghika 77 / The Stream II" au revers
acrylique sur toile
51 x 102 cm. (20 1/16 x 40 3/16in.)
signed and dated "Ghika 77" lower right; signed, dated and titled "Ghika 77 / The Stream II" on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
Exhibitions
London, New Art Center, Ghika, February 8-March 4, 1978.
Literature
K.C. Valkana, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, His Painting Oeuvre, Benaki Museum edition, Athens 2011, fig. 476, p. 238 (mentioned), p. 310 (illustrated).
A luxuriant work of explosive vibe and paganistic feel, Stream II aptly illustrates Ghika's mystical connection to nature. Rocks, plants, and water are engaged in a Dionysian ritual, constantly transformed from shapes to allusions, so that the whole composition is immersed in a perpetually changing and revived atmosphere. However, Ghika was not only interested in the landscape's constant movement and dynamic elusiveness but also sought to capture its everlasting structure; to convey both the reality of the changing atmospheric effects and the reality of the rocky terrain, which stands forever, weathering the next storm as it has weathered millions before.
The work's tender convolutions and fragile gestures allude to the mystical world of oriental calligraphy, which the artist became acquainted with on his journey to Japan in 1958, when he visited the USA at the invitation of the State Department and returned to Greece by way of the Far East. As noted by K.C. Valkana, who wrote the artist's monograph, "throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Ghika remained fixated on nature, selecting subjects that are high up in the hierarchy of Sino-Japanese landscape painting. Many of his views depict mountains, rocks, hills, trails, caves, rivers, and torrents, which are common subjects in shan-shui landscapes, as they bring together two basic elements of nature—the water, symbol of fluidity, and the mountain, symbol of stability—and thus express universal mobility, the interaction of positive and negative energies, yin and yang."1
1. K.C. Valkana, "The Far East and its Timeless Allure in the Painting of Ghika" in Ghika, a Journey from East to West, exhibition catalogue, Benaki Museum, Athens 2024, p. 335.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
