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CRIS GIANAKOS (USA, New York b. 1934 / act: New York City) |
Cris Gianakos was born on 4 January 1934 in New York and grew up there, attending the School of Visual Arts - SVA, but states that he is "mostly self taught." His preference for large-scale work, mainly sculpture, may have been inspired by the architecture of Saint Spyridon's Greek Orthodox Church in Manhattan's Washington Heights, which he believes helped determine his sense of "strong, geometric forms."In 1967 he was represented in an exhibition, Posters from the Permanent Collection, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but he had already begun working with the diagonals that characterize his later work, inspired by a small wooden ramp-shaped object with slats in its sides that he found on the street and still keeps in his apartment. At that time, he was preoccupied with his "participation pieces"; or "outdoor installations," such as a large ×-shaped pattern of flour on one of the roads in Central Park (the geographical center of Manhattan) for bicycle riders to pass over and reshape. He also published a book of his photographs, The White Pit of Mykonos (1971), images of a lime pit from which the residents of that Greek island hauled up the lime to coat their dazzling white houses. In the late 1970s, he began making small and large-scale ramps as a solution to the problem of organizing forms in space. These site-specific sculptures-their shapes suggested Franz Kline's calligraphic marks in three dimensions-contrasted or reinforced the existing character of the surrounding space.
Cris Gianakos has presented the following personal exhibitions: Hundred Acres, New York, US (1972, 1973); 55 Mercer Street, New York, US (1975, 1977); Nassau County Museum of Fine Arts, Roslyn NY, US (1979); Hal Bromm Gallery, New York, US (1979); Marianne Deson Gallery, Chicago IL, US (1980); Hal Bromm Gallery, New York, US (1980); Marianne Deson Gallery, Chicago IL, US (1981); Galerie Nordenhake, Malmo SE (1982); Galeri Riis, Oslo NO (1986); Galeria Krista Mikkola, Helsinki FI (1986); Galerie Nordenhake, Malmo SE (1986); Oscarsson Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1986); Galleri Blanche, Stockholm SE (1986); Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1988); University Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, US (1989); Julian Pretto/ Berland Hall Gallery, New York, US (1989); Stark Gallery, New York, US (1990); Le Salon d' Art, Bruxelles BE (1990); AD Gallery, Athens GR (1991); Stark Gallery, New York, US (1993); Jessica Berwind Gallery, Philadelphia PA, US (1993); Galerie Von Der Tann, Berlin DE (1993); Stark Gallery, New York, US (1993); AD Gallery, Athens GR (1994); Wynn Kramarsky, New York, US (1995); View, New York, US (1997); Thessaloniki Design Museum, Thessaloniki GR (1997); Stefan Stux Gallery, New York, US (1997); Galleri Stefan Andersson, Umea SE (1998); Stark Gallery, Crosby Street Project Space, New York, US (2000); Stark Gallery. New York, US (2002); State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki GR (2002); AD Gallery, Athens GR (2003); Galleri Stefan Andersson, Umea SE (2003); Kunsthus, Lules SE (2003); Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa AL, US (2005); Stefan Stux Gallery, New York, US (2005).
Gianakos also took part in the following group exhibitions: The Box Show, Byron Gallery, New York, US (1966); Posters From the Permanent Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, US (1967); Sculpture Show, Flint Institute of Art, Flint MI, US (1968); Annual Exhibition: Contemporary American Sculpture, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, US (1968); Plastics Show, American Crafts Museum, New York, US (1968); Transparent Sculpture, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, US (1968); A Plastics Presence, Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee WI & Jewish Museum, New York, US (1969); Plastics in Editions, Jewish Museum, New York, US (1969); Sculpture Annual, Whitney Museum of Art, New York, US (1969); Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, US (1969); Annual Exhibition, Salon Society, New York, US (1970); Series Photography, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, US (1970); A Plastics Presence, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco CA, US (1970); Young Artists of New York, Greenwich Library, New York, US (1970); First Sculpture Annual, Hundred Acres, New York, US (1971); Two Man Show (with Julias Tobias), Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson NY, US (1971); Drawings, Hundred Acres, New York, US (1971); Sculpture, Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield MA, US (1971); Artist as Advocate, Museum of Modern Art, New York, US (1971); Posters, Museum of Modern Art, New York, US (1971); Drawings, French & Co., New York, US (1971); Making Megalopolis Matter, New York Cultural Center, New York, US (1972); Parker Street 470, Boston MA, US (1972); Drawings by Young Artists, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond VA, US (1973); New Jersey State Museum, Trenton NJ, US (1974); Collectors of the Seventies - Part III, A Collection in Progress, The Clocktower, New York, US (1975); Spare, Central Hall Gallery, Great Neck, US (1975); Sculptors' Drawings, Fine Arts Building, New York, US (1976); Photonotations, Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, US (1976); Gestures - Painting, Sculpture and Drawings, The Gallery of July and August, Woodstock NY, US (1976); Images of an Era: American Posters 1945-1975, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, US (1976); School of Visual Arts: 10 Alumni, Hundred Acres, New York, US (1977); Noemata, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn NY, US (1977); Photonotations II, Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, US (1977); Xerox Imagery, University of Colorado, Boulder CO, US (1977); Sculpture Show, University of Hartford Art School, Hartford CT, US (1977); Collection in Progress, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia PA, US (1977); Contemporary Drawing Invitational Show, Lake Placid School of Art, Lake Placid NY, US (1977); Sculptors Preliminaries, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant MI, US (1977); Books as an Art Medium, Parson Exhibition Center, New York, US (1978); Artists Books USA, ME, Spaces I, SUNY College, Old Westbury, New York, US (1978); Renaissance Society Drawing Exhibition, Bergman Gallery, University of Chicago, Chicago IL, US (1979); 118 Artists, Landmark Gallery, New York, US (1979); In the Shadow of Duchamp; The Photomechanical Revolution and the Artist's Books, 1968-1978, The Grolier Club, New York, US (1979); Transitions, Alternative Center for International Arts, New York, US (1979); Let There Be Light, Alternative Center for International Arts, New York, US (1979); Summer Show, Hal Bromm Gallery, New York, US (1979); Drawing, Hal Bromm Gallery, New York, US (1979); CAPS Sculpture Show, Niagra Community College, New York, US (1980); Selections from the Collection of Milton Brutten and Helen Herrick, Ben Shahn Gallery, William Patterson College, Wayne NJ, US (1980); On Paper, The Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond VA, US (1980); Architectural Sculpture, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles CA, US (1980); The Fine Art of Making Books: Artists Books from Duchamp to the Present, Pratt Institute Gallery, Brooklyn NY, US (1980); Paper Caper, Frank Marino Gallery, New York, US (1981); Artists Books, Zone, Springfield MA, US (1981); Environmental Interplay: Seven Sculptors, Alternative Museum, New York, US (1981); The Summer Show, Hal Bromm Gallery, New York, US (1981); Drawings, Landmark Gallery, New York, US (1981); Drawings, Hal Bromm Gallery, New York, US (1981); Muestra International de Arte Grafico, Arteder, Bilbao ES (1982); Artists Books, Bienal International de Libro de Artista, Buenos Aires AR (1983); The Modern American Poster, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto JP (1983); Varieties of Sculptural Ideas: Drawings and Maquettes, Max Hutchison Gallery, New York, US (1983); Group Show, Gallerie Norballe, Copenhagen DK (1983); Art for Your Collection, Bucknell University, Lewisberg PA, IS (1983); Terminal New York, The Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn NY, US (1983); New York in Linkoping, Linkoping Museum, Linkoping SE (1983); Connections: Bridges / Ladders / Ramps / Staircases / Tunnels, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA, US (1983); Construction, North Terminal Connector Gallery, San Francisco CA, US (1983); Paintings and Drawings, Galerie Nordenhake, Malmo SE (1983); Drawings, Sculpture Center, New York, US (1984); Tit for Tatlin, Alternative Museum, New York, US (1984); Baubles, Pratt Manhattan Center Gallery, New York, US (1984); Offset: A Survey of Artists Books, Hera Cooperative Gallery, Wakefield RI, US (1984); Call and Response: Art on Central America, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville ME, US (1984); Mail Art Exhibition, Franklin Furnace Gallery, New York, US (1984); The House and Garden: Tenth Anniversary Exhibition, Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn NY, US (1985); New Acquisitions 1980-1985, Moderna Museet, Stockholm SE (1985); Umpires of Art, Gallery 53, Cooperstown NY, US (1985); New York Collaboration - Prints From Bob Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop, Galveston Arts Center Gallery, Galveston TX (1985); The Five and Dime Goes to the Beach, The 5 and Dime, New York, US (1985); Works on Paper by Gallery Artists, Germans Van Eck Gallery, New York, US (1985); 5 Sculptors, Linkoping Museum, Linkoping SE (1985); New York Collaboration - Prints From Bob Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop, Korn Gallery, Drew University, Madison NJ, US (1986); Monotypes, Oscarsson Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1986); Oscarsson Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1986); Selected Works From the Permanent Collection, Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn NY, US (1986); Group Sculpture Exhibition, Galerie Nordenhake, Stockholm SE (1987); Petit Format, Kouros Gallery, New York, US (1987); Recent Acquisitions, Art Bank Program, United States Department of State, Washington DC, US (1987); Outside In, Socrates Sculpture Park at Columbus Circle City Gallery, Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, US (1987); The Old and the New, The Municipal Gallery of Lefkada, Lefkada GR (1987); Nyle Press - The First Year, Nyle Press, New York, US (1987); Black, Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1987); Diamonds are Forever - Artists and Writers on Baseball, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC & New York State Museum, Albany NY, US (1987); Drawings of the Eighties, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA, US (1987); Excavation, Oscarsson Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1987); The Red and the Black, The Municipal Gallery of Lefkada, Lefkada GR (1988); December Group Exhibition, Jessica Berwind Gallery, Philadelphia PA, US (1988); Sculptors' Proposals for Large-Scale Works, 14 Sculptors Gallery, New York, US (1988); Printmaking Workshop, Grafiska Sallskapets Galleri, Stockholm SE (1988); Works from the Porkkana Permanent Collection, Old Student House Gallery, Helsinki FI (1988); Twenty-Four Cubes, The University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, US (1988); Moving Experiences: The Art and Science of Kinetics, Bergen Museum of Art and Science, Paramus NJ, US (1988); Summer Group Show, Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1988); Summer Group Show, Jessica Berwind Gallery, Philadelphia PA, US (1988); The Modern Poster, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, US (1988); A Contemporary Celebration: Exploring the Foundations of Sculpture, Zolla / Lieberman Gallery, Chicago IL, US (1988); Gallery Artists Group Exhibition, Siegeltuch Gallery, New York, US (1988); Works from the Permanent Collection, Malmo Konsthall, Malmo SE & Brandts Klaedes Fabrik, Odense DK (1989); Printmaking Workshop, Gallery Asback, Copenhagen DK (1989); New Acquisitions, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn NY, US (1989); Contemporary Abstract Drawings, Stephen Rosenberg Gallery, New York, US (1989); Drawings, Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York, US (1989); Valentines: Red Hearts and Flying Cupids, Sabbeth Gallery, Glen Cove, New York, US (1989); Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language History, IBM Gallery of Art & Science, New York, Walker Art Center, Hennepin MN, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix AZ, US & Design Museum, Butler's Wharf, London UK (1990); Contemporary Fresco, Stark Gallery, New York, US (1990); Cristos Gianakos, Michael Gitlin, Andrew Topolski - Sculpture and Drawings, Jessica Berwind Gallery, Philadelphia PA, US (1990); Group Exhibition, Stark Gallery, New York, US (1990); Works From the Permanent Collection, Malmo Konsthall, Malmo SE (1990); Out of Doors: Diversity in Environmental Sculpture, Kouros Gallery, New York & Sculpture Center, Ridgefield CT, US (1990); Paper Trail, Stephen Rosenberg Gallery, New York, US (1991); Large Scale, Stark Gallery, New York, US (1991); Drawings, Ruggiero Gallery, New York, US (1991); Painting Into Object, Stark Gallery, New York, US (1991); Bob Blackburn Print Collection, Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York, US (1991); Drawings from 55 Ferris Street, Jessica Berwind Gallery, Philadelphia PA, US (1991); Geometric Considerations, Capital Cities/ ABC, Art Advisory Service, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, US (1991); Prints from Bob Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo NY, US (1992); In the Public Space, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, US (1992); Drawings From 55 Ferris Street, Wynn Kramarsky, New York, US (1993); New Directions in Two Dimensions, Wynn Kramarsky, New York, US (1993); The Tenth Summer, Stephen Rosenberg Gallery, New York, US (1993); Photography and the Visual Arts, Art Athina 93, Athens GR (1993); Art Athina, AD Gallery, Athens GR (1993); The Printmaking Workshop, Bob Blackburn's Collection, Reinberger Galleries, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland OH, US (1993); Floor Show, Anders Tornberg Gallery, Lund SE (1993); Recent Gifts and Acquisitions, University Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, US (1994); Ten, Printmaking Workshop Gallery, New York, US (1994); Drawings, Wynn Kramarsky, New York, US (1995); Sit on This: The Chair as Art, Palm Beach Community College Museum of Art, Lake Worth FL (1997); One of a Kind, Rosenberg-Kaufman Fine Art, New York, US (1997); Drawing from Life, Stark Gallery, New York, US (1997); New York Visions: The William Zimmer Gift to Reading Public Museum, Reading Public Museum, Reading PA, US (1997); Possessions II, Visual Arts Museum, New York, US (1997); Excudit, Ateije Larsen, Vikingsbergs Konstmusem, Helsingborg SE (1998); Works on Paper: Modern & Contemporary Sculptors, 2 Sculptors Gallery, New York, US (1998); Large-scale: Drawings from the Collection of Wynn Kramarsky, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield CT, US (1998); Open Salvo, White Box Gallery Inaugural Exhibition, White Box Gallery, New York, US (1998); School of Visual Arts Gold: Fifty Years of Creating Graphic Design, Visual Arts Museum, New York, US (1998); Den Stokiga Samtiden I En Slottspark, Wanasutstallningarna, 1987-1997, Skissernas Museun, Lund SE (1998); Sculptors Draw, Rosenberg & Kaufman Fine Art, New York, US (1998); Prints and Drawings, Betsy Senior Gallery, New York, US (1998); Bladen, Gianakos, Bill, Josephson, Zoderer, Long, Haerle, Serra, Rossi, Dedelley, Haus Bill, Zurich CH (1999); My Girlfriend Iris, Pamplemousse Press, New York, US (1999); Summer Exhibition, Galerie Anhava Artek, Helsinki FI (1999); Modern Odysseys: Greek-American Artists of the 20 th Century, Queens Museum of Art, New York, US (1999); Sculpture in the Window, Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, US (1999); Modern Odysseys: Greek-American Artists of the 20 th Century, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki GR (2000); Generation of the '60s: A Selection, AD Gallery, Athens GR (2000); Design Routes, Hellenic American Union, Athens GR (2000); Heavy Metal, Roger Smith Gallery, New York, US (2000); Shoes or No Shoes?, Het Museum Voor Schoene Kunsten, Berlin DE (2001); Spring Group Show, Betty Wasserman Art & Interiors, New York, US (2001); Space, University Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, US (2001); Intrepid, Rosenberg & Kaufman Fine Art, New York, US (2002); Aesthetic Balance, Andre Zarre Gallery, New York, US (2002); Places in Our Lives, Art in Embassies Program, United States Embassy, Dakar SN (2002); Stockholm Art Fair, Galleri Stefan Anderson, Stockholm SE (2004); New Etchings and Monoprints, VanDeb Editions, New York, US (2004); AAF Contemporary Art Fair, New York, US (2004).
Gianakos has presented the following installations: White Powder Piece & Street Works, intersection of Spring and Greene Streets, New York, US (1969); White Powder Piece & World Works, Central Park, New York, US (1970); White Powder Piece, John Bartholomew Tucker Show, CBS-TV, New York, US (1972); Making Megalopolis Matter, New York Cultural Center, New York, US (1972); State University of New York, Plattsburgh NY, US (1977); Part One, Sculpture Library, Ward's Island, New York, US (1978); The Message is the Medium: Artworks of Artforum, Institute for Art & Urban Resources, P.S.1, New York, US (1978); Ramp 4, P.S.1, New York, US (1978); Breach, Lobby of Tishman Building, New York, US (1978); Sitesights & Double Dutch, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY, US (1980); Nineteen at Twenty-Six, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, US (1980); Sculpture Now, Outdoor Sculpture in the Public Park, Galerie Nordenhake, Malmo SE (1981); Cul de Sac, Artpark '82, Lewiston, New York, US (1982); Dark Passage, Moderna Museet, Stockholm SE (1982); Sculpture Exhibition, Ward's Island, New York, US (1982); Eclipse, New York Public Art Fund, intersection of West Broadway and Chambers, New York, US (1982); Diver & Modern Mythology, Fordham University, New York, US (1983); almo Konsthall, Malmo, SE (1983); Gemini, SAS Boat Station, Malmo Harbour SE (1985); Sculpture at BMCC, Morpheus, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, New York, US (1985); Civilization, The 5 & Dime, New York, US (1985); Styx & Walk On / Sit Down / Go Through, Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens NY, US (1987); Deja Vu V, Minos Beach Art Hotel, Agios Nicolaos Crete GR (1988); Styx, C.W. Post College of Long Island University, Long Island NY, US (1988); Cul De Sac II, Ewing Gallery, University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN, US (1989); Wanas Ramp & Orion, Wanasutsallningen, Knislinge, SE (1990); Track Two, 55 Ferris Street, Brooklyn NY, US (1992); Morpheus II, French Woods Festival, Hancock NY, US (1994); Kouros, European Cultural Centre of Delphi, Delphi GR (1995); Maroussi Ramp, Emfietzoglou Gallery, Athens GR (1995); Beamwalk, Umedalen Sculpture 96, Umea SE (1996); Zumikon Ramp, Max Bill George Vantongerloo Stiftung, Zurich CH (1997); Gridlock, Thessaloniki Culture Capital of Europe 1997, Alaca Imaret, Thessaloniki GR (1997); Two, 3 Corten Cubes, Umea Kultur, Broparken, Umea SE (1998); Three, 3 Corten Cubes, City Library, Hsrnssand SE (1999); Model Home, Footfalls '99, Maritime Museum, Greenport NY, US (1999); South Horizon, Collection of Martin and Nancy Melzer, Remsenberg NY, US (1999); Soma, Pratt Sculpture Park, New York, US (1999); Double Cross, Stockholm Art Fair, Galleri Stefan Andersson, Stockholm SE (1999); Gridlock, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki GR (2000); Double Cross, Umedalen Sculpture 02, Umea SE (2002); The Victory, The Apartment Complex, New York, US (2003); Double Cross, 10 aquatint etchings, Dunkers Kulturhaus, Helsingborg SE (2003); Olympic Gridlock, Athens by Art, Municipality of Athens & AICA Hellas, Athens GR (2004).
Gianakos has included artworks in the following motion pictures: Working Girl, directed by Mike Nichols (1988); Fear, Anxiety, and Depression, directed by Todd Solondz (2000).
Gianakos has received the following grants: Community Arts Programs & Services - CAPS, New York (1976, 1980); National Endowment for the Arts, New York (1980); Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation, New York (1989); and The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York (1990).
Cris Gianakos currently lives and works in New York.
[Megakles 08/2005]
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
ZIMMER, BILL Cristos Gianakos: Sculpture & Drawings 1980 Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, New York
ALBUM Aurora 1985 Galerie Nordenhake
ALBUM Shakkei 1987 Nyle Press
ALBUM Mirage I 1991 Stark Gallery
CAVALIERE, BARBARA Cristos Gianakos 1991 AD Gallery, Athens [Greek & English]
ALBUM Mirage II 1992 Schwartz Art
TZIRTZILAKIS, YORGHOS Cristos Gianakos: Gridlock 1997 Alaça Imaret, Thessaloniki [Greek & English]
ALBUM Mirage III 1997 Stefan Andersson Gallery
ALBUM Doublecross 2002 Koppartryck Hogtryck Forstalning Workshop/Ole Larsen
ALBUM Metropolis I 2003 Portalakis Collection
ALBUM Metropolis II 2004 Galleri Stefan Andersson
ALBUM Metropolis III 2004 VanDeb Editions
