Δρομάκι με οδοφράγματα

000979 Nikos Yialouris, Road with barricades, 1997, linoleum cut, 47.5 × 72 cm

In Yialouris's engravings, the delicate, dense composition with emphasis on the vertical axis became his trademark. Many of his engravings adopted this compositional scheme, as his subjects were small alleys and cobbled, narrow streets in villages with stone houses. This scheme is used here, in a work depicting an abandoned, collapsing village. On the first level, wooden barricades block the way to the visitor, keeping him away from the dangerous houses. Trees grow between the buildings, next to the high walls. A game of balance between black and white, the grace of the broken line, the distortion of the planes, all these are typical features of Yialouris's prints. And they attest to his deep knowledge of cubism and expressionism, movements that marked his mature creativity, alongside his love of folk art.