Nicolas Vlavianos (Atenas, Grécia 1929 - 2022)
Nicolas Vlavianos was a sculptor and teacher. Between 1955 and 1956, he devoted himself to painting under the guidance of Costa Elíades in Athens, Greece. He then moved to Paris, where he studied sculpture at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière with Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967) and at the Académie du Feu with Laszlo Szabo (1913-1984). He took part in the Réalités Nouvelles salon in 1958 and 1959, in the same city. He settled in São Paulo in 1961. From 1969 onwards, he taught three-dimensional expression at the Faculdade de Artes Plásticas of the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP). He won prizes at the 7th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at the 1st Salão Esso de Artistas Jovens at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC/USP), at the 1st Bienal Nacional de Artes Plásticas in Salvador (Bahia) and at the 4th Salão de Arte Moderna in Brasília, in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1967, respectively.
Between 1972 and 1988, he took part in several editions of the Panorama de Arte Atual Brasileira at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM/SP). He received the São Paulo Art Critics Association (APCA) award in 1974 and 2001. In 1974 he was also awarded a prize at the 5th Salão Paulista de Arte Contemporânea. His work was the subject of retrospectives at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) in 1993 and at FAAP's Museu de Arte Brasileira in 2001.
Critical Commentary
Nicolas Vlavianos had already exhibited at the Réalités Nouvelles, in Paris, a salon devoted to abstraction, when he came to Brazil in 1961 to take part in the 6th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo. As a whole, his sculptural production will remain on the boundary between figuration and abstraction that marks the work of many Brazilian artists of the time.
The artist produces small pieces composed of juxtaposed, asymmetrical and irregular geometric planes. The sculptor also produces the series Personagens [Characters], whose anthropomorphic figures - monumental works created from the opposition between smooth geometric planes and folds of metal - synthesize his research into the relationship between the individual and the machine. The Astronautas [Astronauts] develop similar questions. However, the simple contrast between smooth plates and folds of metal gives way to a unity created by cubes welded together, recalling religious icons. The reliefs express an interest in the informal painting of the period, particularly in the investigation of textures and the presence of gesture.
In the 1970s, the theme of the machine remains, but the solutions diversify: kinds of gears appear combined with hatched or smooth surfaces, articulated tubes and winding incisions that generate rhythm and movement, as in the series Plantas [Plants]. The tension between organic and geometric forms persists in the following years, with formal variations.
In the 1990s, ironically, he begins working with forms that simulate household objects.
Critiques
"From this perspective, we could say that the constructive vocation has also been imposing itself on Vlavianos, who once made his immense anthropomorphic characters and now makes impeccable plays of rhythms and of bright, exact planes. And his geometry is, definitively, the sensitive kind: it does not derive from rules or formulas, from logarithms or calculations, or from a nostalgia for absolute, mathematical order. It derives exclusively from the interplay between eye and space, between hand and form, between intuition, reason and emotion".
Olívio Tavares de Araújo
ARAÚJO, Olívio Tavares de. Vlavianos hoje: Vlavianos sempre. In: VLAVIANOS, Nicolas. Vlavianos. n.p.
"Nicolas Vlavianos's sculpture took shape in a first phase, in the years 1956-1961, in Paris, when the artist traveled to Brazil, settling unexpectedly and permanently in São Paulo. He had left his native Athens in 1956 and, early in his stay in France, soon gave up painting - his initial artistic activity - to opt decisively for three-dimensional expression. His work in metal is now vast, including phases in which he incorporated diverse cultural experiences into his own coherent core of language, sharing the characteristics of the international sculpture of the generation to which he belongs".
Walter Zanini
ZANINI, Walter. O escultor Nicolas Vlavianos. In: VLAVIANOS, Nicolas. Nicolas Vlavianos. n.p.
Solo Exhibitions
1961 - Athens (Greece) - Solo, at Instituto Francês
1962 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria São Luís
1964 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Astréia
1964 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Seta
1965 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Astréia
1966 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at MAM/RJ
1968 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Petite Galerie
1971 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at MAB/Faap
1972 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Astréia
1974 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Múltipla de Arte
1976 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Múltipla de Arte
1976 - Rome (Italy) - Solo, at Embaixada Brasileira
1977 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at MAC/USP
1978 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Múltipla de Arte
1979 - Brasília DF - Solo, at Galeria Oscar Seraphico
1980 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Skultura
1980 - Recife PE - Solo, at Clementina Duarte
1981 - Porto Alegre RS - Solo, at Galeria Guignard
1982 - New York (United States) - Solo, at Kouros Gallery
1983 - Porto Alegre RS - Solo, at Singular
1984 - New York (United States) - Solo, at Kouros Gallery
1985 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Skultura
1986 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria Aktuell
1989 - New York (United States) - Objets d'Art, at Kouros Gallery
1991 - Ribeirão Preto SP - Solo, at Centro Cultural E. Figueiredo
1993 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective: 35 Years of Sculpture, at MASP
1993 - São José dos Campos SP - Solo, at Fundação Cultural Cassiano Ricardo
1999 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Múltipla de Arte
Group Exhibitions
1958 - Paris (France) - Artistes Grecs de Paris
1958 - Paris (France) - Salon Réalités Nouvelles
1959 - Paris (France) - Salon Réalités Nouvelles
1959 - Paris (France) - Salon de la Jeune Sculpture
1960 - Athens (Greece) - 6th Panhellenic Exhibition
1961 - Paris (France) - Salon de la Jeune Sculpture
1961 - Paris (France) - Salon de Mai
1961 - São Paulo SP - 6th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at Pavilhão Ciccilo Matarazzo Sobrinho
1962 - Jerusalem (Israel) - Novas Formas Group
1962 - Haifa (Israel) - Novas Formas Group
1962 - Tel Aviv (Israel) - Novas Formas Group
1963 - São Paulo SP - 1st Young National Drawing Exhibition, at Faap
1963 - São Paulo SP - 7th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at Fundação Bienal - Itamaraty Acquisition Prize
1964 - Belo Horizonte MG - 1st Young National Drawing Exhibition, at MAP
1964 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - E. Wolff Collection, at MAM/RJ
1965 - Belo Horizonte MG - 20th Modern Art Salon - 1st prize
1965 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st Esso Salon of Young Artists, at MAM/RJ - 2nd prize in sculpture
1965 - São Paulo SP - 1st Esso Salon of Young Artists, at MAC/USP - 2nd prize in sculpture
1965 - São Paulo SP - 8th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at Fundação Bienal
1965 - Washington (United States) - South American Esso Salon
1966 - Salvador BA - 1st National Visual Arts Biennial - special prize
1966 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Salão de Abril [April Salon], at MAM/RJ
1966 - São Paulo SP - 8 Artists, at Atrium
1967 - Brasília DF - 4th Modern Art Salon - acquisition prize
1967 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Salon of Boxes, at Petite Galerie
1967 - São Paulo SP - 9th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at Fundação Bienal
1967 - São Paulo SP - Sculptures, at Galeria Mirante das Artes
1968 - Campinas SP - 4th Campinas Contemporary Art Salon, at MACC
1970 - São Paulo SP - Open-Air Exhibition, at Praça Roosevelt, on the occasion of its inauguration
1972 - São Paulo SP - 4th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1972 - São Paulo SP - 6th Young Contemporary Art, at MAC/USP
1972 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Multiplied Art, at Múltipla de Arte
1972 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Multiples, at Galeria Múltipla de Arte
1973 - São Paulo SP - 7th Young Contemporary Art, at MAC/USP
1973 - São Paulo SP - 5th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1974 - Geneva (Switzerland) - Group show, at Galeria Ziegler
1974 - São Paulo SP - 5th São Paulo Contemporary Art Salon - State Council of Culture Prize
1974 - São Paulo SP - 6th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1975 - Budapest (Hungary) - 3rd Biennial of Small Sculpture - best sculptor prize
1975 - Milan (Italy) - Group show, at Museo d'Arte Moderna da Fondazione Pagani
1975 - São Paulo SP - 7th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1978 - São Paulo SP - 10th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1978 - São Paulo SP - 1st Exhibition of Unusual Furniture and Objects, at Paço das Artes
1978 - São Paulo SP - The Object in Art: Brazil in the 1960s, at MAB/Faap
1979 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Sculptors, at Galeria Aktuell
1980 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Ochenta Años de Arte Brasileño, at Banco Itaú
1981 - Guarujá SP - Open-Air Sculpture, at Hotel Jequitimar
1981 - São Paulo SP - 13th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAC/USP
1982 - Bauru SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art
1982 - Marília SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art
1982 - São Paulo SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at MAB/Faap
1982 - São Paulo SP - A Century of Sculpture in Brazil, at Masp
1983 - Belo Horizonte MG - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at Fundação Clóvis Salgado. Palácio das Artes
1983 - Campinas SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at MACC
1983 - Curitiba PR - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at MAC/PR
1983 - Ribeirão Preto SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art
1983 - Santo André SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at Prefeitura Municipal de Santo André
1983 - São Paulo SP - Rereading Project, at Pinacoteca do Estado
1984 - Curitiba PR - Simões de Assis Galeria de Arte: Inaugural Exhibition, at Simões de Assis Galeria de Arte
1984 - São Paulo SP - Tradition and Rupture: A Synthesis of Brazilian Art and Culture, at Fundação Bienal
1985 - São Paulo SP - 16th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1985 - São Paulo SP - 18th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at Fundação Bienal
1985 - São Paulo SP - Highlights of Brazilian Contemporary Art, at MAM/SP
1988 - São Paulo SP - 19th Panorama of Current Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1990 - São Paulo SP - The Multiple as Seen by Baravelli, Marcello Nitsche, Maria Bonomi, Norberto Nicola, Peticov and Vlavianos, at Múltipla de Arte
1992 - São Paulo SP - The Seduction of Volumes: Three-Dimensional Works of the MAC, at MAC/USP
1993 - São Paulo SP - Aviation and Art, at Espaço Cultural do Aeroporto de Congonhas
1993 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective, at Masp
1994 - São Paulo SP - Bienal Brasil Século XX, at Fundação Bienal
1996 - Brasília DF - Art and Urban Space: Fifteen Proposals, at Ministério das Relações Exteriores. Palácio do Itamaraty
1996 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art: 50 Years of History in the MAC/USP Collection: 1920-1970, at MAC/USP
1996 - São Paulo SP - Six Timeless Artists, at Múltipla de Arte
1997 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Sculpture: Profile of an Identity, at Banco Safra
1997 - Washington (United States) - Brazilian Sculpture from 1920 to 1990: Profile of an Identity, at Centro Cultural do BID
1997 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Sculpture from 1920 to 1990: Profile of an Identity, at Sede do Banco Safra
1998 - Brasília DF - Cien Recuerdos para Garcia Lorca, at Espaço Cultural 508 Sul
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Art of Sculpture at the Conjunto Nacional, at Conjunto Nacional
2000 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Sculpture: From the Pinacoteca to the Jardim da Luz, at Pinacoteca do Estado
2001 - São Paulo SP - Art Today, at Arvani Arte
2001 - São Paulo SP - Museu de Arte Brasileira: 40 Years, at MAB/Faap
2002 - São Paulo SP - Metrópolis Collection of Contemporary Art, at Pinacoteca do Estado
2002 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Multiples 30 Years Later, at Múltipla de Arte
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilianart Project, at Almacén Galeria de Arte
2003 - São Paulo SP - Israel and Palestine: Two States for Two Peoples, at Sesc Pompeia
2004 - Campinas SP - Metrópolis Collection of Contemporary Art, at Espaço Cultural CPFL
Source: Itaú Cultural
