Vlassis Caniaris, 2 prints

From the series “Immigrants”

This print depicts a male dummy, headless, wearing pants and a shirt and standing in front of a door.

The immigration theme is central to this composition, and is one of Caniaris’ main concerns as early as the 1970s.

From the series “Walls”

With this print, the composition is organised in vertical parallel zones, in white and black-and-white, and the central focus is accomplished by means of a red rectangular frame.

Caniaris’ interest is mainly centred on form. However, there are potential connotations bringing to mind the multifaceted history of a city’s walls that serve as journals, documenting events, faces and stories.

His life in a nutshell

Vlassis Caniaris (1928-2011) was born in Athens. In 1946, he began studying at the Medical School of Athens. However, 5 years later, he gave up his studies to devote himself to painting.

From 1950 to 1955, he studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Umberto Argyros, Giannis Pappas and Yannis Moralis. At the same time, he worked as an assistant of Yannis Tsarouchis on set design commissions.

After graduating, he moved to Rome and later to Paris. In 1966 he returned to Greece, but political conditions made him leave again a bit later, first back to Paris and then to Berlin as a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) fellow.

In 1976 he returned permanently to Athens, after being appointed Professor of Painting at the School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens. He held this position until 1996.

Artistic influences

Vlassis Caniaris’ personal style was influenced by the movements of:

• Nouveau réalisme
• Arte povera (Poor art)
• Objet trouvé (Found object art)

Favourite themes and artistic style

Vlassis Caniaris sought to explore the relationship between art and life. This is why social and political conditions were a constant source of inspiration. Through series of works like “The walls”, “The plasters”, “The barbed-wires”, he attempted to express his concerns in a comprehensive manner.

Very early on, he was also interested in the representation of space. As a result, he abandoned traditional painting and the two-dimensional canvas surface, and moved towards composite installations.

In his constructions, Caniaris used everyday materials, human dummies and functional objects. From 1981 onwards, he experimented with white paper rolls.

A pioneering artist

Vlassis Caniaris was one of the main representatives of the Generation of the ’60s.

His 1st solo exhibition in 1958 at the Zygos gallery in Athens passed into history as the 1st abstract art exhibition ever to take place in Greece.

The exhibition “Three proposals for a new Greek sculpture”, which he presented at the Venice Biennale in 1964, along with Daniel Panagopoulos and Nikos Kessanlis, was a milestone in shaping modern Greek art, incorporating international trends.

Throughout his career, Caniaris held over 20 solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad. At the same time, he participated in numerous group exhibitions.

Bibliographical references 

Caniaris’ prints are featured in the Story of a workshop exhibition catalogue, by the Pandolfini-Siaterli Engraving Centre (2008).

Caniaris in the Alpha Bank Art Collection

The artist’s work Homage to the Walls of Athens, 1941-... is also part of our Collection.

The 2 prints by Vlassis Caniaris hang at HUB 26 in Thessaloniki.  

Visits can be arranged upon request, only for researchers. Contact us to book your visit.