Demetri Gassoumis - Artist on Hydra Island Greece
Demetri Gassoumis: 1933 - 2015
A master of oil paint and a technician of magical light and elegant space: Gassoumis, born to first generation Greek immigrants in Oakland, California, was raised in the creative vitality of the Bay Area “art scene.” He received his Master’s in Fine Arts from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1958, now known as CCA California College of Arts. In 1979 Gassoumis was invited by painter Mary Snowden, then head of CCA Painting and Drawing Program, to teach a course in “Color and Composition.”
In 1959, Gassoumis moved to Greece to paint and raise a family on the island of Hydra; birthplace to his mother. In the 1960’s, Hydra quickly became known as a bohemian community and haven for artists, writers and poets such as, Leonard Cohen, Bim Wallis, George Johnston and others. Later, artists such as Brice Marden joined the expanding international Hydra “artist community.”
Gassoumis moved back to the US in the mid 1960’s, painting in New York City’s lower East side studio, located on Ludlow and Stanton streets. Gassoumis experimented creatively, developing a delicate three dimensional portrait system out of paper, which focused on capturing the negative projected light of a photograph and creating a positive imagine. These pieces were widely successful as personal portraits and classical images of Icarus, the Elgin Marbles and of Leta and the Swan. During this era of experimentation in New York City, Gassoumis was commissioned by Ellen Stuart of La MaMa Theater, to create sets for a Venice Biennale Exhibition. During this era, Gassoumis could often be found at Max’s Kanas City with artists such young Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol (who later photographed Gassoumis’ daughter, Athena, for French Vogue).
Gassoumis left New York in 1973 and moved back to Hydra, spending his life thereafter, traveling between Greece and California.
Gassoumis developed a dedicated following of private collectors around the world and had major exhibitions in Greece, three on Hydra at the Museum of Hydra, the Melina Mercouri Gallery and most recently at the Hydra Gallery in June of 2014.