Nassos daphnis

The Greek-born American artist Nassos Daphnis was a major figure in the 20 th Century art world and is recognized for his mastery of geometric abstraction and his evolution into what became known as Hard-Edge Painting. Daphnis was actively supported by the Leo Castelli Gallery for 39 years, who placed his work in some of the best museum collections around the world Guggenheim, Whitney, MoMA, to name a few.

He also gave him 17 solo shows, making him the 3 rd most exhibited artist of Leo Castelli Gallery, right after Jasper Johns 19 solo shows and Robert Rauschenberg 18 solo shows. From the day I saw his first slides I recognized this, and that he differed also because there was no hint of anything that should suggest sentiment.

Nassos Daphnis was a Greek-born American abstract painter, sculptor and tree peony breeder.

Sentimentality of any type was ruled out. Daphnis was one of the pioneers of the Minimalist school of New York. His devotion to purity predicts 60s minimalism; his systemic approach predates systemic painting. In doing so, he used multiple planes of solid color to create the illusion of depth, space, and movement amid smooth, uninterrupted surface textures.

Nassos Daphnis remained outside recognized schools and moved fluidly among emerging styles, with one goal — to reach perfection. Daphnis has been the recipient of numerous prestigious art awards. He was named a Guggenheim Fellow in and received the Francis J. Daphnis had exhibitions during his lifetime, both domestic and international: 90 group shows and 33 solo shows, including four retrospective museum exhibitions: Nassos Daphnis Work since at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery March 9 th — April 13 th in Buffalo, NY, which traveled to the Everson Museum of Art May 1 st — June 29 th in Syracuse, NY.

The Armory Show returned to New York this past week with a new director, a new design and renewed sense of purpose. Read more here. Devoted to post-war and modern art from until last year, it garnered less fervor and foot traffic than its flashier contemporary counterpart….