Lot 63: AR Costas Coulentianos (Greek, 1918-1995) Nouvelle Génération VII / Bas relief No 2 160 x 138 x 21 cm.

Costas Coulentianos (Greek, 1918-1995)
Nouvelle Génération VII / Bas relief No 2 signed and dated 'KK 92-93' (lower left) bolted painted wood160 x 138 x 21 cm.

Provenance: Ileana Tounda Gallery, Athens.Private collection, Athens.Literature: E. Mykoniatis, Greek Art - Modern Greek Sculpture, Ekdotike Athenon editions, Athens 1996, p. 213 (discussed), p. 136 (illustrated).Costas Coulentianos, Exhibition catalogue, Couvent des Cordeliers, Paris 1997, no.122, p. 104 (illustrated).Coulentianos, Exhibition catalogue, Medousa gallery, Athens 2008, p.9 (illustrated).Coulentianos, The Last of the Modern Acrobats, Benaki Museum, Athens 2012, no. 213, p. 214 (illustrated).Constructed of successive flat surfaces in the style of Picasso's synthetic cubist collages, this amazing relief by one of the most gifted and vigorous sculptors of postwar European abstraction, owes its seductive appeal to the fascinating interplay of angular forms and intense colours. Discussing this piece in his book on Modern Greek Sculpture, Professor I. Mykoniatis noted that "its solid geometric shapes are joined by strong metal bolts that allow the various parts to retain their autonomy without jeopardizing their relations of interdependence."11. I. Mykoniatis, Greek Art - Modern Greek Sculpture, Ekdotike Athenon editions, Athens 1996, p. 213.