Thomas Papadoperakis, Painting
The Historical Museum of Crete welcomes 18 works by Thomas Papadoperakis generously donated by his sister, the distinguished sculptor Aspasia Papadoperaki, and two works donated by his brothers Giorgos and Yannis Papadoperakis. The exhibition includes another nine works by the artist on loan from our fellow-citizens and friends, and 18 creations from his Multiple Works series.
Thomas Papadoperakis did not give his paintings titles, did not note the persons depicted in them, and called his still lifes “compositions”.
Born in 1943 in Spilia, Heraklion, Thomas Papadoperakis came in contact with the Byzantine painting of the Cretan School at an early age. He studied Printmaking, Painting, Set Design and Pottery at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Mavroides, Grammatopoulos and Vassileiadis, gaining distinctions, followed by a degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied under Gustave Singier.
During his seven-year stay in Paris, he associated with Yannis Tsarouchis and powerful personalities from the art world, such as Iris Clert, Lila de Nobili, Alexander Iolas, César and Tériade.
His work won two awards (the Nikos Kazantzakis Prize, Heraklion 1998 and the Audience Award at Art Jonction International, Cannes 1995). The artist also held 12 solo exhibitions in Greece and France and participated in many major international group exhibitions.
In spite of his untimely death (Nice, 2002), Papadoperakis’s work establishes him as one of the most interesting and singular figures of modern Greek art.
His works are housed in the National Gallery in Athens and in private collections in Greece and abroad, including the Élie de Rothschild collection in Paris.
Thomas Papadoperakis,
The Aspasia Papadoperaki Donation
to the Historical Museum of Crete
