Stephen Antonakos, Saint Christopher

Light and modern materials

Saint Christopher is a typical sample of Stephen Antonakos’ work. The piece is composed by:

• A square metal surface
• A neon light at the back

The entire composition is dominated by bold blue hues on the metal surface, seen as bright brushstrokes. This achieves an imposing, religious function of light.

Spiritual quest and innovation

The piece is part of a wider artistic series by Antonakos, with titles inspired by Saints, telling of the artist’s religious and spiritual quests, and evoking memories of the Greek civilisation.

At the same time, it constitutes an important reference to the Greek artists who worked outside of Greece and who, through their creations, played their part in establishing international, contemporary and innovative art.

His life in a nutshell

Stephen Antonakos (1926-2013) was born in Agios Nikolaos, Lakonia. In 1930 he settled with this family in New York. He started painting in early childhood.

Antonakos was self-taught. In 1960 he was one of the first artists to use neon lights as a means of expression, a device which established him in the international art scene.

Artistic influences

The artistic idiom of Stephen Antonakos was formulated through the study of abstract geometry and Russian constructivism.

The influences he had from artistic pioneers, such as Alberto Burri, were also significant.

The use of neon

Stephen Antonakos was a pioneer, forming the shape of modern art with the use of neon. The constant flow of light rays was a main feature of his work as early as the mid-1970s.

As of 1980 Antonakos used neon light to create poetic oppositions between the light of solid shapes and the radiance of electric light. The use of neon transcends the minimal sculptural intervention in space, becoming a purely structural element of the artist’s work.

The work of art in our publications

The piece Saint Christopher by Stephen Antonakos is referenced in the Alpha Bank 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.

Participation in exhibitions

The piece Saint Christopher by Stephen Antonakos was featured in the Alpha Bank exhibitions:

• “The Alpha Bank Collection. Greek Art from 1950 until Today” held at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete in Rethymno in 2016.
• “The Alpha Bank Collection. Greek Art from 1950 until Today” held at the Municipal Art Gallery of Larissa in 2017.

It was also featured in the exhibitions:

• “Antonakos”, Chapel of the Saints, Rhodes, 1993.
• “Contemporary Greek Art from the L. Beltsios Collection”, Larissa Contemporary Art Centre, 1998.
• “Stephen Antonakos: A Retrospective”, Benaki Museum, 2008.
• “Art Athina”, Palaio Faliro Stadium, 2015.
• “Stephen Antonakos: Light. Stephen Antonakos and the Russian Avant-Garde”, MOMus-Museum Alex Mylona, Athens, 2020.

In other literature

The piece is also referenced in the publications:

• C. Kampouridis, Antonakos. Chapel of the Saints, exhibition catalogue, 1993
• M. Stefanidis, Oppositions-Convergences. Greek Art in the ‘60s and ‘70s from the Leonidas Beltsios Collection, exhibition catalogue, 2000
• Κ. Koskina, Stephen Antonakos, retrospective exhibition catalogue, 2008
• J.F. Costopoulos Foundation. Anniversary review, 1979-2009
• D. Zacharopoulos, Beltsios Collection. The Pioneers. A View of Greek Art in the 2nd half of the 20th century, 2003 (in Greek)
• Stephen Antonakos, Stephen Antonakos. Neon Rooms, 2018
• Stephen Antonakos: Light. Stephen Antonakos and the Russian Avant-Garde, exhibition catalogue, 2020. The publication accompanied the same-titled exhibition.

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