Mylona Alex (1923 - 2016)

She was born in 1923 in Athens. She studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1945-1950), in the studio of M. Tombros.
She participated in the art group Ergastiri since 1954 and in 1956 she became a founding member and vice president of the Association of Greek Women Artists. Her first solo exhibition in Athens (Monica Pane gallery, 1955) included figurative sculpture with works focusing on human form.
Her acquaintances with artists of international modern art and her close connection with Paris, where she kept a studio and spent much of her time after 1960, played a pivotal role in shaping her style. Influences by Alberto Giacometti, Ossip Zadkine, and other contemporary sculptors can be detected in the early stages of her artistic quest. Her themes remain anthropocentric, but forms are schematized and acquire expressionistic features, which are highlighted by the use of metal as her primary material.
Later on, in her mature works, she will use materials such as cement and especially marble (white or coloured). Instead of the dynamic angular shapes of her previous period, her sculpture now incorporates solid masses and smooth surfaces into harmonious compositions, mostly abstract, with subtle references to archetypal forms.
She presented her work in solo and group exhibitions, in Greece and abroad. She represented Greece at the 30th Venice Biennale (1960, together with A. Kondopoulos, L. Lameras and Y. Spyropoulos), at the Biennale of Sao Paulo (1961) and at the Montreal International Biennale (1967). In 1986, a retrospective exhibition of her work showcased at the Athens National Art Gallery.
In the mid 90s, the sculptor settles permanently in Greece. In 2004 the Museum of Contemporary Art Alex Mylona housing her works was inaugurated in Athens. In 2007, the Museum building and its contents were donated to the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art. The Foundation is currently very active with major exhibitions and other art events.