Panagopoulos Daniel (1924-2008)

Spectacle Urbain, No 14, 1968. Electric box, 57,5 x 141 x 29 cm

Daniel Panagopoulos was one of the most pioneering visual artists of the ’60s generation and the exponent of Greek modernism. He was initially influenced by abstract gestural painting, but soon he moved away from the conventional visual media and joined the emerging pioneering currents of the time. During the 60's his art moved to three dimensions, with the basic material being the packaging cartons for which he became famous and as a result he created the first Black Boxes which was evolved into "Electric Boxes". Also, he participated together with a couple of other famous artists, in the exhibition, ''Three proposals for a new Greek sculpture'', in Venice, in the context of the 1964 Biennale. This exhibition due to its progressive nature, provoked strong reactions and controversies in Greece and through them was revealed the important role that the "generation of the '60s" was going to play in the modernisation of Greek art. Furthermore, after presenting his critical attitude towards the technology with the Electrical Boxes, he returned to the wall works. Its basic material, after 1972, became burlap, torn, painted or frayed, as a means of researching the relationship of flat surfaces with space and light. These works, which often testify to an affinity with the French art movement Support-Surface, also express the artist's intellectual pursuits and his concerns about art and society.