After 50 years of painting, an artist should hope to have caused some controversy along the way. Ioannis “Yanni” Glykokokalos can rest easy Friday at the opening of a multimedia retrospective exhibition at The Hanson Gallery in Honesdale, Penn. commemorating half a century of work. Alternately figurative and abstract, his works have been described as “running the gamut from playful to controversial.”

Born in Lesvos, Greece in 1937, Glykokokalos earned an engineering degree in Athens before moving to New York City to study art in 1959. He absorbed the color concepts, constructions and geometric minimalist forms of the time but cites the music and visual mysticism of the Greek Eastern Orthodox traditions by which he was raised.

“As a young man, I saw the world mostly in black and white, youth and revolution inseparable,” he explains in a statement online via the BlueStone Gallery in Milford.

After moving to Wayne County in late 1980s he founded the Wayne County Arts Alliance with his wife Pauline about a decade ago.

It was through the Arts Alliance that Cynthia Hanson met Glykokokalos. It was the number of fine artists sharing their work with the help of the WCAA that convinced Hanson and her husband Lars to open the gallery last June. Regular visitors to the region for years, the couple made the big move from New York City in May. Their first exhibit was a group show promoting the more than 20 artists who participated in last summer’s Open Studio Tour. A similar exhibition will be held in advance of this summer’s July 30-Aug. 1 tour. An opening reception has been scheduled for July 10. The Glykokokalos retrospective is the first solo show they’ve hosted.

Glykokokalos has enjoyed more than 50 one-man shows and exhibited in twice as many group shows in Europe, South America and the U.S. His work is included in more than 500 private, corporate and museum collections. Regionally, his work has been seen with that of Raymond Rocklin in an exhibit at Lizza Studios of Tunkhannock in October 2005 as well as in group shows.

Located at 1037 Main St. in a renovated historical building dating back to 1864, The Hanson Gallery also sells art supplies and offers antique, vintage and new furniture, home decor and collectibles. It was most notably the home of the former Van Deusen’s Candy Store, later a beauty parlor and most recently a party supply shop.

An artist herself, Hanson has a background in textile design but works primarily in watercolor with an occasional collage. She’s excited to be part of the burgeoning art scene in Honesdale that’s been further boosted by the opening of The Phillip Hone Gallery in 2008 and the Willow River Gallery last July. The latter gallery will also be hosting an event Friday evening, said Hanson. The Phillip Hone Gallery will host a new Connections ArtScene Exhibit opening on Thursday.

Call 253-2525 or visit www.thehansongallery.com for more information.

IF YOU GO
Works by Ioannis “Yanni” Glykokokalos
Where: The Hanson Gallery * Decorium
When: 5/8/2010
Phone: 570-253-2525

Source: Electric City