Artist’s CV
Artist’s Curriculum Vitae
Theodoros Pantaleon was born in Athens in 1945. He is a Greek surrealist painter and engraver.
He studied graphic arts at the Athens Technological Institute (ATI-Doxiadis School), and painting with H. Dekoulakos. He is interested in the works of classical painters and is influenced by old color lithographs. He uses both oils and mixed colors, and his subject matter refers to dreamlike and fantastical ensembles in the direction of surrealism and automatic writing.
Despite his contacts with the conquests of various creators of surrealism, which are recognized in some cases, he manages to reach a more personal expressive language. In the direction of surrealism, his painting is distinguished by the sculpting of forms and emphasized distortions, the more dreamlike atmosphere and problematic space, the interiority of color and the completeness of its line. In some cases a personal use of plastic values is noted, and a close contact with works by M. Ernst, both in thematics and in the utilization of linear formulas. The same elements characterize his engraving works, especially the lithographs, where the same subject matter, similar morpho-plastic vocabulary and the same problematic space appear.
In his works, he uses typical elements of surrealism, while adding elements of mannerism with portraits where he uses dreamy and fantastic ensembles. In several of his works he uses the image of an idealistic young woman’s face and combines elements from the past with fragmentary and distorted elements from objective reality, while elsewhere a motionless bird is inserted into his work, creating mystery in the whole.
