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Pavlos, Affiches massicotées

The abstract composition Affiches massicotées by Pavlos (Dionyssopoulos) is a typical sample of the artist’s original work with the use of posters as materials. A pioneer of modern art, Pavlos impressed the Parisian artists, forging a friendship with them. He was a notable representative of the ‘60s artistic generation.

The piece Affiches massicotées by Pavlos (Dionyssopoulos) is an abstract wall composition, created from strips of posters over a plexiglass. The bold colour combinations resulting from the folds of the paper strips are striking.

The composition is one of Pavlos’ early experimentations in the use of posters. The posters he selected were usually unused print mock-ups or bad copies with multiple prints of colours and images. The variety of this original material gave the artist the ability to create complex compositions in elaborate colour combinations.

His life in a nutshell

Pavlos Dionyssopoulos (1930-2019), known simply as Pavlos, was born in Filiatra, Messinia. Between 1949 and 1953 he studied Painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Yiannis Moralis. In 1954 he continued his studies at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière on a French Government scholarship.

He travelled to many European countries. Between 1955 and 1958 he worked in Athens in advertising and theatre. In 1958, on a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation IKY, he returned to Paris to settle and opened his studio.

Artistic influences

Pavlos’ work is clearly influenced by the ground-breaking art scene of the 1960s, with references to impressionism and pop art.

Even though the artist formed close ties with the Nouveau Réalistes and folklore art movements, he never identified with them completely.

Favourite themes and artistic style

Pavlos explored any ordinary or natural thing that intrigued him, such as:

Trees
Still life
Simple objects

His technique drew inspiration from the American creative ideas on collages. Gradually, Pavlos abandoned conventional painting on canvas, experimenting with cheap everyday and contemporary materials, such as paper strips. His style was mainly marked by plasticity and a richness of colour.

The poster as art material

The main material of Pavlos’ artistic expression was the poster. Using a printing paper cutting machine, he cut large quantities of thin strips from poster paper, assembling them into dense vertical layers.

In combination with other everyday materials, such as plexiglass and wood, he created multi-dimensional, abstract wall compositions, usually in large dimensions. This ground-breaking modern art technique established Pavlos as one of the most notable representatives of the ‘60s generation.

The work of art in our publications

The piece Affiches massicotées by Pavlos (Dionyssopoulos) is featured in the publication The Alpha Bank Collection. Greek Art from 1960 until Today, edited by Maria Tsantsanoglou, Irene Orati and Yiannis Bolis. The publication accompanied the same-titled exhibition held in Thessaloniki in 2018.

In other literature

The piece is also referenced in the publications:

A. Adamopoulou, Post-War Greek Art. Visual Interventions in Space, 2000 (in Greek)
D. Zacharopoulos, Beltsios Collection. The Pioneers. A view of Greek art in the 2nd half of the 20th century, 2003 (in Greek)

The Alpha Bank Art Collection is not open to the public.

If you are a researcher, you can visit it by appointment.

Pavlos, Affiches massicotées