Constantine Andreou

Constantine Andreou (; 24 March 1917 – 8 October 2007) was a Brazilian-born Greek painter and sculptor with a highly successful career that spanned six decades. Andreou has been praised by many as an eminent figure in international art of the 20th century.

Biography

Early life (1917–1945) Andreou was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1917 to Greek parents who had immigrated to Brazil a few years prior.

In 1925, his family moved back to Greece where he settled in Athens until the end of World War II. During these years, Andreou dabbled in crafts and for a period worked as a carpenter making furniture while studying technical design. He graduated in 1935.

In 1940, Greece entered World War II on the side of Allies, and by 1941, the country was under Nazi and Italian occupation. Andreou was initially drafted into the Hellenic Army in 1940 and during the occupation he was an active member of the Greek Resistance.

Life in France (1945–2002)

In 1947, Andreou began using a new personal technique employing welded copper sheets. This new technique allowed him to create a new way to express his creation in a way completely unrelated to tradition.

In the same period, Andreou became a member of a select group of philosophers, including Jean-Paul Sartre, who discussed various topics in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Andreou had his first exhibition in Paris in 1951, where he demonstrated the transformation of his style. In the group exhibition "Seven Greek Sculptors", Andreou was characterized as "the most famous Greek sculptor in the capital with a rich, varied and successful work". By the end of the decade, Andreou was widely known in the French art scene and considered an equal to Mondrian, Picasso and Gastaud. In 1982, he was given the lead as chairman of the Paris "Autumn Salon" for sculpture.

In 1999, the library of the town La Ville-du-Bois, where Andreou resided while in France, was named in honor of Constantine Andreou.

Throughout his time in France, he regularly visited his friends and family in Greece and many times exhibited his work in various cities and islands there. In 1977, Andreou bought a centuries old winery on the island of Aegina. There in ancient Aegina in the summer of 1985, together with the namesake poet Evangelos Andreou, Constantine Andreou creates a series of twenty paintings entitled "Polymorphs" that are based on the poet's work "Restoration of a Stone Stalk". (Ανδρέου-Ανδρέου/Andreou-Andreou 1987

Andreou has also participated in the Biennales of Antwerp, the Netherlands, Paris, Venice, and Yugoslavia.

Legacy In 2004, Andreou created the "Costas Andreou Foundation" with the stated goal to promote his work in the arts and the significance of sculpture and painting worldwide. The foundation is also to recognize young and upcoming artists every 3 years with an award, based on the decision of an international judging committee. The first time the award was given in March 2008.