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Abstract Artist Crhristeas
Abstract artist
Gregory Christeas has lived in the USA since 1967 until his return to
his birth place, Athens, in 2004 to participate in the Cultural Olympiad.
Christeas' Abstract Art Show was sponsored by the Ministry of Progress
and the Department of Tourism in Athens Greece. Abstract Artist
Christeas' paintings can be found at the Hydra Museum Historical
Archives, in Hydra, at the Modern Art Gallery in Hydra, and at his New
York, Athens,
and Hydra Studios. The artist's
Abstract Paintings are all over the world. He was the organizer and
leader of the dynamic group of Greek Freedom Fighters L.A.O.S (People's
Liberation Organized Army) and helped overthrow the dictatorship of
1967 to restore the democracy of Greece in 1974.
The heir to
a long line of ship builders and sea captains from Mani,
Artist
Christeas spent his early years
observing machinery that was invented by his grandfather for the sole
purpose of creating better ships.
At the age
of four, Artist
Christeas began his life as an artist
sketching family portraits on his place setting with a pencil.
There was an immediate positive reaction towards what he had drawn and
the lesson was learned about the joy spontaneously created from the
expression of life captured in art. When I asked my father what
his greatest art lesson was, he replied: “All I needed to know
about art I learned from my mother, she said “make it unpretentious
and as natural as possible”. The journey of a lifetime had begun!
Artist
Christeas cared more about
cultivating his spirit as a dreamer than anything else. His adolescence
was spent in admiration of the great thinkers of classical Greece and
gathering impressions of Greece’s beauty – mainly from the island of
Hydra, where Artist
Christeas spent endless summers
enjoying life with his friends and supporting himself as a working artist.
Countless art paintings were sold to shop owners, tourists and private
collectors from all over Europe.
By his early
20’s, Artist
Christeas was becoming well known
throughout Europe for his abstract art and it seemed imminent that he
was headed for international success. On the morning of April
21st, 1967, Artist
Christeas’ dreams of being
able to pursue his life as an artist were crushed by the tanks rolling
into Athens at two in the morning. “My apartment shook so badly,
my paintings literally jumped off the walls looking for a place to hide.”
Those who thrive
upon and enjoy the privilege of peace must also be ready to act when
times of difficulty require them to. Without hesitation,
Artist
Christeas left Greece in search
of those who would help liberate their country from the Junta.
Now married
and living in Santa Monica, California in the early ‘70’s,
Artist
Christeas learned of Andreas Papandreou
and Costas Tsimas’ presence in Berkley, California and drove through
the night with his wife to speak with them. The common goal was
shared for establishing a free Greece and the underground training for
the resistance began.
After returning
to Greece in 1973, Artist
Christeas was known throughout
the resistance only by his codename: Apostoli – The Apostle.
It took Apostoli and his brothers-in-arms less than a year to bring
the Junta to their knees. The damage inflicted caused an immediate
collapse of the Junta’s infrastructure – finally returning liberty and
Democracy to its birthplace.
It’s a rare
case that humanity gets to share an artist’s work, life, and success
while that artist is still alive. I feel extremely fortunate that
this same person is also my dad. Over the years, it has been a
vital influence to me to see how inspiration and dedication generate
the ability to accomplish your dreams – to live your life without hesitation
and without fear, knowing that tomorrow is a future where anything you
can think of is always and absolutely possible.
Athens, Greece 2004
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