View from Kriezotou street 1983

Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas created ‘View from Kriezotou Street’ with ink and watercolour on paper. The architecture rises in angular blocks, rendered in muted tones and stark contrasts of light and shadow. The composition teeters between abstraction and representation, which is common in Ghikas’s oeuvre. Note how the artist simplifies the architectural forms into geometric shapes. These flat planes interlock and overlap, creating a dynamic interplay between depth and surface. The limited palette of greys, whites, and ochres further emphasizes the structure. The scene is divided using shadows, while the light is broken into different planes. The structuralist in me can't help but see a visual language that challenges conventional perspective. Ghikas destabilizes our sense of space, inviting us to question how we perceive and construct reality. What seems like a simple street view transforms into a complex arrangement of forms. The play of light, shadow, and geometric shapes challenges fixed meanings and engages with new ways of thinking about space.