Κορμός δέντρου

000213 Nikos Yialouris, Tree trunk, 1983, Indian ink on paper, 117 × 53 cm

The composition is dominated by two tree trunks painted with reed pen and Indian ink. The sky is painted black, while the golden, full moon is visible behind the sparse, leafless branches. This compositional motif (trunks in front of the full moon) appears frequently in the series of tree trunks that Yialouris worked mainly after 1980. Melancholic in its conception, the composition acquires a tragic character through its depiction. Yialouris's harsh, edgy line gains intensity thanks to the use of the reed pen, as the trunks—full of knots and twists—are transformed into a shapeless mass, into a peculiar ‟landscape”. The artist’s expressionistic style is here enriched with influences from Far Eastern art.