Thanos Tsingos Biography
Tsingos Thanos (1914 - 1965) is a Greek artist who left his indelible mark on the country's post-war art scene, non-conformist lifestyle and constant reinvention of ideas and forms. Born in 1914 in Elefsina, he studied architecture at University of Athens, working as an architect until 1939. During the Second World War he served on the Middle Eastern front and was involved in the coup d'état in the Middle East, being sentenced first to death, then to life imprisonment. Once pardoned and released (1946) he became one of the architects who worked on the plan for the city of Brasilia, on the recommendation of Le Corbusier. After the end of the project, he settled in Paris, where he collaborated with avant-garde theater and dedicated himself to painting. His first personal exhibition was held here in 1950. He returned definitively to Athens in 1961, where he presented two personal exhibitions with moderate success. His pictorial style belongs to the European Informal trend. His works are rarely completely abstract. Usually these are figurative subjects (landscapes, animals or flowers), which are depicted in an abstract way, like images of a fantasy world. The freedom and boldness of his painting style were not duly appreciated in Greece in time. Despite his productivity, he could hardly sell his works, at least not during his living years, which is why he died destitute in 1965. Subsequently, his paintings became very popular, confirming the quality of his work, but also his myth of cursed artist.
