Δέντρα

000600 Nikos Yialouris, Trees, 1985, Indian ink on paper, 100 × 34 cm

Repetition—the continual return to the same subject in order to grasp its essence through sustained effort—is a defining characteristic of Yialouris's artistic practice. It is also confirmed by his love of folk art, where he repeatedly worked on motifs such as suns, ships, and birds. In the case of tree trunks—a significant motif in his work during the 1980s—repetition led to a series of drawings with shared features, yet marked by a newfound expressive power previously unseen in his oeuvre. That power is evident in the present drawing, where a bare tree trunk dominates the foreground. It occupies the entire composition, which develops vertically, while in the background a stone wall and another tree can be seen. The harsh line—executed in Chinese ink and reed pen—the expressiveness of the mulberry trunk with its knots, hollows, and slender branches, transform the drawing into an outstanding example of the expressionistic style of the mature artist.