(born in Batum, Georgia in 1922)
‘Der Schreitende’, 1966–69, bronze, goldbrown patina, signed Avramidis, numbered 3/3 + 3 PA, hight 172 cm, (K)

Watch Video: Contemporary Art | November 2015 | Austrian and German Artists

‘Der Schreitende’ is owned by:
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany
Albertinum, Dresden, Germany
National Art Gallery and Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens, Greece
Israel-Museum, Jerusalem (Jan Krugier Collection, Geneva)

Exhibited and published (selection):
Joannis Avramidis, Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, Galerie Ulysses, Vienna 1975, cat. no. 15
Griechen unter Griechen, Joannis Avramidis in der Glyptothek, Special Exhibition at the Glyptothek, Munich, 1999, illustration catalogue title and page 12 - mentioned on page 14: from the text by Peter Prange:

...Also the ‘Schreitende2’ by Avramidis requires no elevation on a socle. He steps forward with his right leg, whereas kouroi step forward with their left. The ‘Schreitende’ is conspicuous in the work of Avramidis due to its unusual form: the figure consists of two tubes which are almost square in section, and which are not fused together in the torso area. The reduction of the human figure is very advanced: the ‘Schreitende’ not only lacks feet, arms and head, but also the volumes of the body are only indicated by means of bulges and depressions. These modulations are the result of a long quest for the correct contour. The various large-scale drawings of the motif of the ‘Schreitende’ indicate how much Avramidis strove for the ‘true’ line. The right-angled tubes, formed according to the respective profiles of the body, reveal just like an anatomical section how the striding motif affects the human body. Avramidis only rarely created such figures in movement, however: his main theme for decades was the calm, standing figure. ....

Published (selection):
Michael Semff, Avramidis. Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, Hirmer Verlag, Munich 1005, page 196/197, ill. no. 121/122 Birk Ohnesorge, Ein anderer Zeitgeist: Positionen figürlicher Bildhauerei nach 1950, Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 2005, ill. page 24/25
Austrian Arts Senate: ‘Der Große Österreichische Staatspreis’, Jung und Jung Verlag, Salzburg 2003, ill. page 175
Joannis Avramidis, A Classic of Contemporary Sculpture, National Gallery-Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens, 1997, ill. page 109 La Sculpture. L’Aventure de la Sculpture Moderne - XIX et XX Siècles, ed. Albert Skia, Geneva 1986, ill. page 229

Provenance:
Galerie Ulysses, Vienna
Viennese Collection

Fritz Wotruba IN PRAISE OF A YOUNGER COLLEAGUE on the occasion of Joannis Avramidis‘ decoration with the Grand Austrian State Prize After many years, a sculptor is again distinguished with the Grand Austrian State Prize. The sculptor, chosen among the many talents Austria has to offer, is Joannis Avramidis. Neither the jury nor I had any moments of doubt or hesitation. Avramidis is not only the genius of his generation in Austria, but certainly also in Germany, being one of the few great sculptors of our time. His artistic development took place on this soil. I do not know what would have happened if fate had brought Avramidis elsewhere during the war than to Vienna. Are there talents greater than the soil on which they grow? Is genius adaptable, does it thrive under all conditions and circumstances, is it immune to its environment, or is it more delicate and vulnerable than other individuals? Is the one who is distinguished and chosen by creation not marked by or susceptible to his environment, be it good or bad? These questions are all posed vehemently. Avramidis was born in Baku to Greek parents and is now 51 years old. He insistently refers to his Greek heritage and regards himself as an heir to Greek culture. This could mean that regardless of where he may have landed, his talent would have sprouted on any soil... I‘m unaware of the direct causes that make Avramidis‘ work a document of harmonious beauty. The term ‘beauty’ is somewhat provocative and frowned upon, one needs courage to erect an idol of beauty in this modern, rotten world. His work so far appears to be more than an attempt; it seems to succeed, even if some claim this work to be one-dimensional, monotonous and constructed. One thing is certain: it is a part of true reality and, because of this, it is art. With these last sentences I wish to say that only art is graced to shape the rare, the unique, the beautiful and the brutally ugly, to whatever purpose it may be. That‘s how cultures develop and have developed. Today we know they are only an evasion of all inadequacies of this world, their lacking institutions and flawed organizations. (…)
1974 Wotruba, Figuren als Widerstand, published by Galerie Welz, 1977