Biography

The widespread and international impact of Spanish painting, with its most prominent representatives Domenikos Theotokopoulos from Crete (1541-1614), who is well known in the history of art with the nickname El Greco, and later Francisco Goya (1746-1828), without underestimating among others the contribution of of Velázquez (1599-1660), Murillo (1617-1682), Sorolla (1863-1923), Solana (1866-1945), Tàpies (1923-2012), as well as prominent representatives of the modernist movements, mainly cubism and surrealism in the 20th century, Picasso (1881-1973), Gris (1887-1927), Miró (1893-1983), Dali (1904-1989), was destined to be that fertile field where the personal style of Faliriotis – of Cretan as he said origin – painter and engraver, Dimitris (Mimi) Perdikidis would develop. Perdikidis was born on 4/7/1922 and his father Leonidas passed away young, after living for many years in Alexandria and enlisted in the Balkan Wars, while his mother Mathilde Vaise was French from Alsace-Lorraine. In Neo Faliro, where he grew up in one of the warmest and most welcoming houses in the region, Asia Minor refugees began to flow from 1926 onwards, as a result it became an area with a strong working class element. As a child, Perdikidis drew non-stop, as confirmed by his sketchbook from 1933, which was published in 2003 by the art historian Maria Kotzamani. He studied at the Mixed High Schools of Moschato and in 1942 he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he attended the classes of Andreas Georgiadis (1892-1981), known as Kris, and Umbertos Argyros (1884-1963). From that period, however, he will stand out the painters K. Parthenis (1898-1967) and D. Biskinis (1891-1947), the art historian P. Prevelakis (1909-1986) and the engraver G. Kefallinos (1894-1957). He took part in the National Resistance from the ranks of EAM-ELAS and according to testimonies he was sent to a camp in Egypt, in El Daba, during the Decemvriana. He will graduate from the School with many honors in 1950. In the meantime, he will experience the tragedy of the Civil War, in fact, according to his interview (mag. Alexisfairo, issue 14, March-April 1988), he had gone into exile in Ikaria together with the eminent technocritic and warm supporter of his work Tonis Spiteris (1910-1986). During that period, due to his characterized “anti-national action” and his political views, he will create portraits of prominent Athenians in order to survive (see H. Mortoglou, “Social testimony of a pioneer creator”, Rizospastis, 4/21/2002). At the same time, he will be acquainted with Demosthenes Kokkinidis (1929-2020), whom he and Valias Semertzidis (1911-1983) encouraged to study painting. Finally, for six months, he will embark as a sailor on a Spanish ship, with Basque captain from Bilbao, where thanks to his appeal to languages he quickly learns to speak Spanish.

Through the intercession of a Spanish Catholic cleric Perdikidis would eventually leave with a two-year Spanish government scholarship to Madrid in 1953, to attend the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts. In 1954 he will be followed – despite her parents’ opposition – by Eleni Olivieri, from a family of wealthy merchants, who studied child psychology in Geneva alongside the pioneer Swiss scientist Jean Piaget who wanted her as his assistant, with whom they got married in 1955. In 1956-’57 he enrolled in the National School of Graphic Arts of Spain in lithography and artistic printing courses, receiving the first prize in lithography, while, at the same time, he also studied the conservation of works of art. His first exhibition in Spain takes place in the scenic city of Cuenca, in 1954, whose impressive cliffs with hanging houses and flatlands he painted with enthusiasm. Previously, he had exhibited his works, in 1953, at the “4th Panhellenic Exhibition” in Athens (he will also participate in 1956 and 1957 Panhellenic Exhibitions). From now on he will exhibit almost every year, presenting his work in a total of about 35 solo exhibitions, mainly in Spain and Madrid, where he will organize his first solo show at the Hall of the General Directorate of Fine Arts in 1957, with many more to follow (Gallery Buchholz 1958; Nebli Hall 1960; Ateneo 1961 and 1967; Seiquer Gallery 1971 and 1973; Ynguanzo Gallery 1975 and 1980). In Madrid he got also in contact with the gallerist Juana Mordó, born in Thessaloniki, who had an important contribution to the promotion of the pioneering artists of the “El Paso” group through the Biosca gallery, where Perdikidis exhibited his work in 1960, and the gallery that later took her name (where Perdikidis participated in a team in 1965). In 1960 he exhibited in Hydra at “Cleo” gallery and in London at “Woodstock” gallery, and in 1961 in Casablanca, Morocco, as well as at the sixth São Paulo Biennale with the Spanish delegation. In 1961 he was awarded by the Ateneo of Madrid critics’ association and received the silver medal at the “International Abstract Art Competition” in Lausanne. In 1962 he exhibited at Hilton, his first solo exhibition in Greece, in 1963 at the “Architecture Hall” (where he will also exhibit in the years 1964, ’65, ’66) in Athens (at the exhibition Four Greek Artists), as well as at the exhibition ” Twenty foreign painters in Spain” in Barcelona. In 1964 he exhibited at the Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels and at the Hilton in the exhibition Nine Greek Artists. In the same year, he participates in the 33rd Venice Biennale together with Genovés (1930-2020), the New York International Exhibition and the Greek Contemporary Art exhibition in Brussels. In 1965 he presented his works in Stockholm and San Francisco. In 1966 he participated for the second time in a row in the Venice Biennale, again in the Spanish kiosk. Also, in the same year, an exhibition of his work is presented at the “Astor” gallery in Athens (Eight Greek Artists Abroad), at the “Kleio” gallery and at the Macedonian art company “Tekhni”. The following year he exhibits at the Rath Museum in Geneva (Art Hellénique Contemporain), as well as at the Defacqz gallery in Brussels. In 1968 his works were presented at the “Grises” gallery in Bibao and in 1969 at the “Fleisher Anhalt Gallery” in Los Angeles. In 1970 he exhibited in Nicosia and Ibitha. In 1971, an exhibition with works of anti-dictatorship content is organized at the “Athens Art Gallery” in Hilton (where he will also exhibit in 1972) and in 1973 an album of 10 of his silkscreen prints is published for the poetry collection “Romiosini” by Ritsos. In 1978 he participates in the traveling exhibition “Critical Realism” in Spain. From that period, his individual exhibitions will be organized more frequently in Greece (1974 Athens Art Gallery with introduction by Ritsos; 1977 Desmos Art Gallery; 1985 “Nees Morfes” Art Gallery; 1985 Stavrakaki Art Gallery, Heraklion; 1986 “P. Faliros Spiritual Center “∙ 1988 “New Forms”; 1989 “Epochs”, Kifissia, “House of Cyprus”, Athens, “Stavrakakis”, Heraklion). Contributing to this is the fact that, after the unexpected death of his wife in 1981, and after a period of about two years during which he abstained from artistic creation, he decided to return permanently to Athens in 1985. During that period, he participated in group, in 1985 in the context of the cultural capital of Europe in Athens at the “Epipeda” Art Galleries, in 1987 in Panhellenia at the O.L.P. Center. in Piraeus, in 1988 at the “Contemporary Spanish Engraving” exhibition (Municipal Theater of Piraeus) and at the “Projects-Events” exhibition at the Kostis Palamas Building for the 70th anniversary of the K.K.E., as well as in 1989 at the “House of Cyprus “, including. His work in Greece was mainly highlighted, apart from Maria Kotzamani and Tonis Spiteris who were mentioned, by Efi Andreadis, Eleni Vakalos, Diana Antonakatos and Beatriki Spiliadis. In 1985, he applied for professor at ASKT, but received a positive vote only from D. Kokkindis and was not elected. In 1987 he was awarded a commemorative medal for his participation in the National Resistance. He dies in Kifissia, on 30/12/1989, two months after he acquired his own workshop. After his death, there have been exhibitions of his work in 2002 in Thessaloniki (Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art), in 2003 and 2014 in Athens (ASKT and Cervantes Institute), in 2010 in Chania (Municipal Gallery) and in 2014 in Piraeus (Laskaridis Foundation). His works are in museum collections in the USA (Evansville Museum in Indiana, De Witte Memory Museum in San Antonio, Peabody Museum in Nashville, University Museum in St. Louis) and in Brussels (Musée Royal des Beaux Arts, Musée des Beaux Arts d’Ixelles), as well as in Greek museums (National Gallery, Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Vorre Museum, National Gallery of Rhodes, Municipal Gallery of Piraeus) and in private collections and institutions (Kostopoulos Foundation, Ekaterina Laskaridis Foundation, collection Alpha Bank, Educational Foundation of the National Bank, etc.). Finally, in Spanish museums (Museum of Modern Art of Ibitha, Museum of Abstract Art of Cuenca), institutions (Juan March Foundation) and private collections (Pilar Citoler).

Perdikidis’ work is characterized by a continuous development, through a fruitful dialogue with the avant-garde visual groups in Spain at the time (“El Paso” in Madrid, “Dau al Set” in Barcelona). As Kostis Liontis will mention (Daily-Seven Days, tribute “The Greeks in Spain”, edited by Kostis Liontis, 17/1/1999), his visual creation “is presented in circles”. At the beginning she appears armed but without a narrative character. Gradually, after 1959, he moved into abstraction and from 1967, for a decade approximately, he returned to figurative expression with clear social messages. After 1980, it became abstract again with expressionist and constructivist elements, moving forward to pure construction forms with real objects. Perdikidis always remained politicized, an admirer of Trotsky, pursuing an artistic work integrated into the progressive movement, while impressing with his appearance, as he was over 2 meters tall, which made the “battle” he fought with the material even more interesting when he was painting, in a kind of gestural expressionist painting that he applied, more influenced by the amorphous painting of France, with which he had more contact as his mother was French, rather than the American abstract expressionism. In Spain he had close contact with the engraver Dimitris Papageorgiou (1928-2016) and Manuel Hernández Mompó (1927-1992), while since 1973 he had a close relationship with the Cretan painter Vassilis Solidakis (b. 1948), who apprenticed next to him in Madrid. In his work he used oil, gouache, charcoal, pencil, red pencil, ink and tools such as airbrush, while he often introduced fabrics, wood or prints and applied techniques such as collage and frottage. Initially, in his first expressionist steps in his new homeland, he was interested in the Mexican school of painting and admired Picasso’s Guernica, and, even more, the dark period of Goya’s painting. Gradually, around 1961, he assimilated influences from Millares (1926-1972), Muñoz (1929-1988), Saura (1930-1998), Canogar (b. 1935) and Tàpies and until the Venice Biennale of ’64 and ‘ 66 his compositions become increasingly powerful and expressive (see Miguel Fernández Belmonte’s thesis on his work, defended at the University of Athens in 2016). After 1967 and the junta of the colonels in Greece, his work again acquires a performance aspect, wanting to touch upon as clearly as possible the eternal and dramatically topical problem of human oppression at the time for his country. As he declared (Alexisglobo magazine, March-April 1988): “The problem of oppressed peoples is universal. We have to get a seat. You can do politics with painting all your life”. Yannis Ritsos will write about his work in 1974, stressing that “the chronographic, journalistic, photographic everyday life meets the eternal, neutralizing any anecdotal or deliberate element and overcoming the danger of the symbolic or symbolic”. Spanish art critics will focus on the element of contact of his work with his time, like Luis Trabazo who will emphasize the authentic representation of the feeling of anxiety through the visual protest expressed by his painting. While Carlos Antonio Areán will emphasize the contact of his work with the archaic sources of his homeland: “Here is Minos and his labyrinthine architecture; the Mycenaean earth, the air of the archaic Herakles, the light and the lightning and the stone and the land that goes as an unforgettable reality in the human soul”. The classical Greekness of the structure of his work will be verified by Vakalos and Prokopiou, as well as Marinos Kalligas, Chrysanthos Christou and Paraskevi Katemertzi, among others. He himself will emphasize in his testimony that when he went to Spain he had with him Christian Zervo’s books on Cycladic and Cretan ceramics, which also had an effect on the prevalence of the abstract trend of modern painting in France from the interwar period onwards. The strict austerity of his work was also inspired by his contact with the work of Brecht and the famous technique of distancing that he established, as Perdikidis was a man of the book, having close contact with the philosophy and modern movements of the time, but also with music and photography, which he loved equally. In summary, Perdikidis goes from an expressionist abstract painting to a more representational one to end up emphasizing the constructivist elements, which always interested him, in the last period of his work. As A. Prokopiou will underline (Kathimerini, 20/10/1963), in his work “the passion of Spain is married with the logical austerity of Greece”. E. Vakalos will emphasize in her turn (“Beyond aesthetics”, Ta Nea, 4/11/1966) that “Perdikidis’ sensitivity leaves aesthetics to accept the dramatic gusts of a religious feeling”. The last observation is confirmed if one takes into account that Perdikidis wanted to express with his painting the bitter experience and trauma of the Civil War and therefore chose to follow the footsteps of Spanish culture, which is characterized by the famous Duende that Lorca described with the following words in his speech: “The coming of the Duende always presupposes a profound change in the old forms. It gives a sense of freshness, completely unknown before, with the quality of the newly created rose, the miracle. It manages to produce an almost religious fervor.”

Anestis Melidonis
Art Historian
Scientific Associate of the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation