Leading engraver A. Tassos' works Exhibition in Artemisia

A great cultural event is coming to enliven Artemisia. The village will host an exhibition of works by the leading engraver A. Tassos (Anastasios Alevizos). From August 13th to 17th, 2025, visitors will have the unique opportunity to see up close the legendary album covers created by the great artist, mainly for the rebetissa Sotiria Bellou.

The exhibition is co-organised by the Artemision Association of Athens, the Artemision Cultural Association of Kalamata and the A. Tassos Visual Arts Society, in a partnership that honours the memory and work of the great Messenian creator from Lefkohora.

Who was A. Tassos?

Tassos Alevizos, also known as A. Tassos, was born in Lefkohora, Messinia, in 1914. He studied painting and engraving at the School of Fine Arts and was one of Yannis Kefallinou's first students.

During the Occupation, he participated in the artistic publication of EAM-ELAS “From the Struggles of the Greek People”, which was first released on March 25th, 1943, while in 1945 he illustrated, together with other young artists, the albums “For Chiliakrivi Freedom” and “The Altar of Freedom”. In 1954, his collaboration with the Hellenic Post Office began for the design of all Greek stamps. He ceased his collaboration in 1967, after the junta was imposed. From 1962 until he died in 1985, he designed all the stamps of the Republic of Cyprus. He dealt almost exclusively with woodcuts. When he was a student and engraved his first compositions in 1932, his subjects were chosen from the life of workers and city life, designed with an expressionist idiom. Then, he became acquainted with the work of the great Greek engraver Dimitris Galanis, who lived in Paris, and was influenced by his own, different perspective.

In the 1950s, he turned to colour woodcuts, creating themes from the life of farmers and landscapes of his hometown. His personal style was formed in the 1960s through black and white woodcuts in large sizes, with symbolic forms and strict compositions. At the same time, since 1960, he has taught graphic arts at the Athens Institute of Technology. In 1965, he met Alekos Patsifas, owner and director of the record company "Lyra", and in 1966, rebetiko singer Sotiria Bellou. They jointly agreed to undertake the covers of the first two albums of the series "The rebetika of Sotiria Bellou". The aesthetics of these covers found S. Bellou in agreement, and thus their collaboration progressed for ten more covers. The proven friendship between the engraver and the rebetista and her wish that, "for the cover I always want Tasso", resulted in a series of works where the decorative is complemented by the essential, where the unified aesthetic image creates an undisputed tone and projection of the specific musical product, where the strong friendship and reciprocity created complete visual and musical proposals.

During the junta period (1967-1974), he refrained from exhibition activity and concentrated on illustrating albums with original engravings. During this period, he created the monumental unit of works “White—Black 2.” These are very large woodcuts that deal with issues of social protest and visual recordings of political events, always with the protagonist as the person who is struggling. This unit was presented in 1975 at the National Gallery in an exhibition with unprecedented public participation.

The National Gallery honoured him again in 1987 by organising a retrospective exhibition. In 1985, A. Tassos and his wife, Loukia Maggiorou, had already donated 150 works by the engraver to the National Gallery. Today, the Gallery has the most complete collection of works by A. Tassos.

The Exhibition at Artemisia

The exhibition at Artemisia is a tribute to the artist, presenting a unique aspect of his work: the album covers, which contributed to shaping the visual identity of Greek music production.

Visitors will have the opportunity to travel through A. Tassos's images and discover how woodcuts can tell stories and highlight the dynamics of Greek folk music.

Exhibition Information:

Dates: August 13th - 17th, 2025

Venue: Art Gallery (Former Elementary School) of Artemisia

Opening: August 13th, 2025, 8:00 PM

Opening Hours: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM