Nassos Daphnis
Nassos Daphnis had been drawing and carving since childhood; his passion for art led to many beatings by the village schoolmaster in his small Greek town. In New York, he continued drawing during odd hours and eventually, Daphnis purchased paints and set up a studio of his own. His early paintings were based on memories of Greece. Naive in style and characterized by a strong feeling for color and form, a work was eventually sold to William Gratwick. Daphnis returned from World War II deeply affected by Europe’s devastation. In a studio he shared with Theodoros Stamos, he began to paint surreal landscapes, laying on images of ruin with a palette knife. In time, his work evolved into biomorphic shapes representing the natural world. His experience observing nature led him to the following conclusion: “nature works in order to create a form in an orderly fashion.” This observation along with a stint in the army painting camouflage patterns and a 1950 trip to Greece where the intensity of light reduced all appearances into basic forms led Daphnis to create flat, abstract, geometric paintings. Daphnis has created work that is environmental and presented site-specific installations in New York City. His paintings …
Nassos Daphnis had been drawing and carving since childhood; his passion for art led to many beatings by the village schoolmaster in his small Greek town. In New York, he continued drawing during odd hours and eventually, Daphnis purchased paints and set up a studio of his own. His early paintings were based on memories of Greece. Naive in style and characterized by a strong feeling for color and form, a work was eventually sold to William Gratwick. Daphnis returned from World War II deeply affected by Europe’s devastation. In a studio he shared with Theodoros Stamos, he began to paint surreal landscapes, laying on images of ruin with a palette knife. In time, his work evolved into biomorphic shapes representing the natural world. His experience observing nature led him to the following conclusion: “nature works in order to create a form in an orderly fashion.” This observation along with a stint in the army painting camouflage patterns and a 1950 trip to Greece where the intensity of light reduced all appearances into basic forms led Daphnis to create flat, abstract, geometric paintings. Daphnis has created work that is environmental and presented site-specific installations in New York City. His paintings continue to offer viewers a mesmerizing and powerful experience. Daphnis exhibited with Leo Castelli Gallery for over thirty years.
Courtesy of Anita Shapolsky
Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio Albany Mall, Albany, New York
Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ann Arbor Art Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Baltimore Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
Basil Goulandris Museum, Andros, Greece
Boca Raton Museum or Art, Boca Raton, Florida
Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia
Guggenhiem Museum, New York City
Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC
Ian Vores Museum, Peonia, Athens, Greece
Munson-Willliams-Proctor Museum, Utica, New York
Museum of Modern Art, New York City
Pittsburgh Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Providence Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania
Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah
Whitney Museum of Art, New York City
