Description
Stephen Antonakos (Greek/American, 1926-2013)
Athens, Greece Series, 2000
A lot comprising of three artworks.
Mixed media collages in shadow box frames Each signed and dated in red ink stamp “ANTONAKOS” with date; numbered individually (#2, #8, #21) Photographed by Jeffrey Sturges. Framed by Squid Frames, New York.
The Athens, Greece series represents a rare and deeply personal body of work by Stephen Antonakos, the Greek-American artist celebrated for his pioneering use of neon and minimalist architectural installations. Created in July 2000, these intimate assemblages mark a contemplative turn in his practice — away from large-scale environments toward small-scale, diary-like compositions that encapsulate time, place, and material memory. Each piece combines found and tactile materials gathered during his stay in Greece — fragments of fabric, stones, printed ephemera, Greek postage stamps, and metro tickets — arranged with deliberate simplicity inside shadow box frames. The stamped dates (“JUL 11 2000”, “JUL 13 2000”, “JUL 16 2000”) act as both signatures and temporal anchors, transforming the works into poetic relics of travel and reflection. These collages, created between New York and Athens, echo Antonakos’s lifelong engagement with spirituality, geometry, and the sanctity of everyday materials. Their restrained compositions and precise framing reveal an artist equally attentive to the metaphysical and the mundane.
Individual artwork description:
- Untitled (Athens, Greece) , July 13, 2000 — #2 Mixed media with newspaper, stones, and paper fragments. Evocative of fleeting news and permanence of matter, this piece meditates on memory through decay and preservation. H. 29 cm x W. 21 cm x D. 7.40 cm. (Dimensions of box).
- Untitled (Athens, Greece) , July 11, 2000 — #8 Mixed media with blue fabric, printed paper fragment, and Greek postage stamp. A lyrical interplay between texture and language, juxtaposing the tactile softness of cloth with the printed fragment of Greek text. H. 29 cm x W. 21.50 cm x D. 5.40 cm. (Dimensions of box).
- Untitled (Athens, Greece) , July 16, 2000 — #21 Mixed media with Attiko Metro card, stone, and Greek stamp. This work bridges ancient and modern Athens, uniting raw earth with the emblem of the newly inaugurated Athens Metro. H. 29 cm x W. 21 cm x D. 6.80 cm. (Dimensions of box).