| THEODOROS STAMOS (1922 - 1997)
Theodoros Stamos (1922-1997) was one of the original Abstract Expressionists working in New York City in the 1940s and 50s. His interest in nature, Surrealism, primitive arts and Asian Mysticism helped him to synthesize a non-representational language, which he emphasized with subtle gradations of color and form. His canvases often have a grainy, atmospheric surface with muted colors and calligraphic configurations. Stamos, the fourth of six children born to Greek immigrants in New York City, was awarded a scholarship to American Artists’ School, where he studied sculpture with Simon Kennedy and Joseph Konzal. His work has been exhibited throughout the world, and can be found in major museum collections such as the Whitney Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. For a more complete list, go to Theodore Stamos Museum Exhibitions and Chronology. EDUCATION 1936-39 Peter Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. Awarded a scholarship to American Artists' School. Studies sculpture with Simon Kennedy and Joseph Konzal. 1937 Joseph Solman, a member of "The Ten", encourages Stamos to begin painting at home and directs him to visit Alfred Steiglitz's gallery. SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1972 Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY 1972 Meisel Gallery, New York, NY (on Madison Ave.) 1978 Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, November 1980 Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY 1981 "Paintings 1958-60", Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, April 4 - 25 1981-82 “Theodoros Stamos”, Karen and Jean Bernier Gallery, Athens, Greece, December 9, 1981-January 23, 1992 1984 “Stamos: A Selection”, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, April 7 - 28 1984 M. Knoedler, Zürich, Switzerland 1985 Galerie Wurthle, Vienna, Austria 1986 “Stamos”, Kouros Gallery, New York, NY, April 23 - May 24 1987 “Blue Paintings”, Turske & Turske, Zürich, Switzerland, April 10 - May 16 1987 Pierides Gallery of Modern Art, Athens, Greece 1988 Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany 1989 Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center in Athens, Greece 1989 “Stamos,” Dorsky Gallery, New York, NY, January 12 - February 4 1989 “Theodoros Stamos 1940’s - 1970’s,” Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY 1989-90 "40's, 50's, 60's, 70's 80's," Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, December 2-22, January 3-13 1990 "Recent Work," Louis Newman Galleries, Beverly Hills, CA, April 26 - May 10 1990 "Stamos," Dorsky Gallery, New York, NY, May 10 - June 9 1991-92 “Theodoros Stamos 1947-1963,” Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, December 7-21, 1991 & January 3 -1 8, 1992 1991-92 ACA Galleries, New York, NY 1993 ACA Galleries, New York, NY 1993 "I.F.L.S." Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY 1997 “Theodoros Stamos 1922-1997 – A Retrospective,” The National Gallery and Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens, Greece, Sept. 30 – Nov. 30 GROUP EXHIBITIONS 1982 “A Curator’s Choice 1942-1963”, Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, NY, February 6 - Marcy 6 1982 “Louis K. Meisel Gallery in Brussels,” Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels, Belgium, April 22 - May 22 1982 “Abstract Expressionism Lives,” Stamford Museum, Stamford, CT, September 19 - November 7 1985 “49th Annual National Mid-year Show,” Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, June 30 - August 25 1986-87 “Abstraction By American Masters Over 50,” R.H. Love Modern, Chicago, IL, December 12, 1986 - January 19, 1987 1987 “The Best of Nashville,” Metro Nashville Arts Commission Gallery, Nashville, TN, October 18 - November 15 1988 “Art in the Armory (Louis K. Meisel Gallery)”, New York, NY, January 27-31 1988 “20th Anniversary Show,” Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, November 1992 "Black Mountain College/Scratching the Surface", Station Gallery, Katonah, NY, March 21 - May 9 1996 “Paper Work”, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, Feb. 3 - 24 1998 “Remembering (Alcosser, Bell, Comtois and Stamos)”, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, January 31 - February 28. PUBLIC COLLECTIONS The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York Tucson Museum of Art, Arizona SELECTED BOOKS 1990 Anfam, David. Abstract Expressionism, Thames and Hudson, Inc., London, pp. 14, 82, 93, 171-72, "Ancestral Myth" 1946, p.93 1998 Jeffett, William. Surrealism in America, During the 1930’s and 1940’s, Salvador Dali Museum Editions, Florida, p. 96, “Moon Through Pines”, 1947, ill. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS 1992 "Review", The New Yorker, Jan. 6, p. 13 |
