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SOSSO HOUTOPOULOU-CONTARATOU (Greece, Athens 1923-1984 / act: Athens) |
Sosso Houtopoulou-Contaratou was born on 25 September 1923 in Athens, Greece. She attended preliminary courses at the Athens School of Fine Arts - ASFA (1943-1944). In 1947 she left for Geneva, where she stayed until 1954, attending the following courses of study: industrial design at the École des Arts et Métiers (1947-1948), sculpture at the Académie Henri Paquet with Paquet himself as instructor, and literature as an auditor at the Université de Genève. She also took courses in jewellery-making in Lausanne, worked with Zolotas Jewellers (1972-1974), and showed her creations in international jewellery exhibitions. The forms in Houtopoulou-Contaratou's works are abstract and her compositions strictly geometrical, based variously on the interplay of curved and straight lines, a visual utilisation of the blank spaces, and the rhythmic and harmonious repetition of identical units. In the early 1970s, she abandoned freestanding works and moved on to three-dimensional mural compositions based on the same structural principles.Sosso Houtopoulou-Contaratou presented her art at the following personal exhibitions: Nees Morfes Gallery, Athens (1962, 1967); and Desmos, Athens (1976). She also took part in the following group exhibitions: Panhellenic Exhibition, Zappion Hall, Athens (1957, 1960, 1963, 1969); Nees Morfes Gallery, Athens (1959, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1974, 1991); International Modern Art Exposition, Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1960); Drawing International, USA (1961); Mostra Internazionale di Scultura Contemporanea, Pagani del Grattacielo, Milan (1962); Contemporary Greek Artists, The Bezalel National Art Museum, Jerusalem - Haifa Municipal Museum, Haifa - Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel (1962); Young Greek Artists, Athens School of Fine Arts - ASFA, Athens (1963); Alexandria Biennial, Alexandria, Egypt (1963, 1969); Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, F.B.A. Galleries, London (1964); Griechische Malerei: Plastik und Graphik der Gegenwart, Wolfganag Gurlitt Museum, Linz, Austria (1964); Arte Griego Contemporaneo, Salas Nacionales de Exposiciones, Buenos Aires (1965); One World Through Art, Minnesota State Art Gallery, Minnesota, USA (1972); Inaugural Exhibition, Grey Art Gallery & Study Center, New York University, New York (1975); Engraving Biennial (Ljubljana, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981; Krakow, 1976, 1978, 1980; Friedrikstad, 1976, 1978, 1980); Contemporary Greek Art, National Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria (1976); International Exposition - Grupa Junij, Mestna Galerija, Ljubljana - Umjetnicka Galerija, Dubrovnik- Museo Civico, Rovigno (1977); A Small Self-Portrait, Art Core Gallery, Kyoto, Japan (1977, 1979); Avanguardia e Sperimentazione, Galleria Civica, Modena - Magazzini del Sale, Venice (1978); International Exposition - Grupa Junij, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana - Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo (1978); Engraving Biennial, Listowell, Ireland (1980); and Collection Grupa Junij: International Art, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana (1985); and Silent Dialogues: Multimedia Portraits Throughout Time, The American College of Greece, Athens (2008).
[Megakles Rogakos 09/2007]
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
FERENTINOU, EFI Sosso Houtopoulou-Contaratou 1967 Nees Morfes Gallery, Athens
XYDIS, ALEXANDROS 1976 v.I, p.66, 110
FERENTINOU, EFI Sosso Houtopoulou-Contaratou 1976 Desmos Gallery, Athens 1976
STROUSA, EFI Avanguardia e Sperimantazione 1978 Galleria Civica, Modena, p.16-17, 28-9
CATALOG Greek Artists: 16th-20th Centuries 2000 Melissa Editions, Athens, v.4, p.456-458 [Greek]
