Hero Kanakakis (1945 – 1997)

The well-known Greek painter Hero Kanakakis was based in Athens, but she lived and worked in London for fifteen years, between 1973 and 1989.

The paintings have been inspired by an extended stay of the artist in the mountains of Pelion, in the heart of the Greek mainland. In these works, Kanakakis is drawn to more abstracted and fragmented compositions through contrast, tension of forms and intensity of colours. Lingering between real and dream space, these images are populated with strange anthropomorphic creatures and animals. Fragmented shapes allude to real objects – the head of an animal, miscellaneous human parts, the contour of a window, flowers in a garden, parts of an interior – and simultaneously retain and deny any references to the external reality.

Hero Kanakakis art

Available Artwork