From 1967 to 1974, Greece was ruled by the dictatorship of the Colonels. During this period Fassianos lived in Paris where he met Jean-Marie Drot who would become his close friend and whose works he would later illustrate.
“Indefatigable genie, beetle of the cities and the fields, Fassianos is present everywhere… Even before he crosses the threshold you’ll find him a few kilometers further down, greeting every window, saying a little something to everyone, then he’ll disappear … only to pop up again like some devilish jack-in-the-box. He’s got a bit of the ragpicker in him, Fassianos does, something like the curiosity of a primitive whose eye never tires of discovering because for him everything is a spectacle. (“Unfettered genius” by Jean-Marie Drot in La volupté mythologique [Mythological Delight])
They traveled together often, namely to the island of Ios, where Jean-Marie Drot kept his collection of contemporary art.
During that time, he also connected with Pierre Seghers and illustrated his poems. Bernard Gheerbrant showed Fassianos’ engravings at the Galerie La Hune Bookstore. In Paris he also reunited with the filmmakers Costas Gavras and Costas Natsis.
In 1968 he had a show in Munich and a year later another in Hamburg. Simultaneously, a vibrant collaboration began with Paul Facchetti, who organized two solo exhibitions for Fassianos in his galleries in Paris and in Zurich.
For Fassianos, these two solo shows were critical to furthering his career as they marked the first comprehensive showcase of his artistic idiom, which would define him thereafter. The reviews were excellent.
“It’s fantastic and semiological that the greatest painter of our time [Alekos Fassianos] was born in Greece …”
Philippe Caloni, Combat newspaper, December 1970
In 1968 he had a show in Munich and a year later another in Hamburg. Simultaneously, a vibrant collaboration began with Paul Facchetti, who organized two solo exhibitions for Fassianos in his galleries in Paris and in Zurich. For Fassianos, these two solo shows were critical to furthering his career as they marked the first comprehensive showcase of his artistic idiom, which would define him thereafter. The reviews were excellent.
