Patrikalakis Phaedon (1934 - 2017)

He was born in Drama in 1935. At first he studied at the Vakalo School of Art & Design and continued his studies in Paris at the Academie Julian, the Academie du Feu, and the Ecole de Dessin Applique a la Mode Historique. Since the early ‘60s he was active as a painter and stage designer in France and Greece. His first solo exhibition was held in Athens in 1960 (Sarlat gallery).
He uses bright colors without great tonal contrast, which emphasize the two-dimensional flatness and abstract nature of his compositions. The strongly schematized figures and curved shapes arranged in ordinary scenes with many poetic and fantastic elements dominate his subjects. His narratives shift between fantasy and reality, often being reminiscent of a fairytale. The morphoplastic features of his art sometimes refer to modernist patterns, post cubist in particular, and other times step towards a primitivist aesthetic, very close to the traditional forms of the Greek Folk Art and Shadow Theatre. The influences by French and Greek art, and art forms from other countries, inside and outside Europe, with which he familiarized himself during his travels, are evident in both his paintings and sculptures (mainly bronze and clay).
His unique relationship with music permeates his work and, even more, his writings. He published numerous books on painting of different eras, scenography, various travels and poetry collections. He has also illustrated books and albums and has written about art in many magazines and newspapers.
He worked in Paris as a stage and costume designer until 1964 and then started to cooperate with Greek troupes in Athens and other regions (Theatro Technis Karolos Kuhn, the National Theatre of Northern Greece) and many more.
He has presented his painting and sculptural work in several solo and group exhibitions both in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Hydra), and other European countries (France, Germany, Netherlands).