Nonda - New York Acrylics

New York Acrylics

In 1968 Nonda began to experiment with colourful acrylics on large canvasses after a six-month stay in New York City during which he discovered the qualities of acrylic paints for the first time. He conducted an entire series of these vivid canvasses which explore abstracted or stylized human form with new emphasis on colour. The forms mainly depict two lovers, seaside temples, and boats, which were inspired by his young American fiancee, Maria-Alexis Deviney, on a summer trip to Greece together. The trumpets which appear in certain canvasses are a symbol that reoccurs in all phases of his career as an expression of joyousness and elan vital. Works from this period are imbued with bold colours and broad, free brushstrokes. They anticipate the forms in a series of large sculptures he would later create from the hull of a wrecked wooden fishing trawler found in the Greek port of Lavrion. These zoomorphic and anthropomorphic compositions are often linked to the "embrace" or union between two figures.