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Jason Molfessis

Jason Molfessis

Greek
1925 - 2009

Biography

Born in Faliro, Attica in 1925, Iason Molfessis studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1941–46) in the studio of Konstantinos Parthenis, while also attending the Law School (1942–44). During his military service (1947–49) he undertook on-site study of Byzantine art in northern Greece. In 1950 he moved to Paris, where he attended the École des Beaux-Arts (1951–52), working in Pierre-Henri Ducos de la Haille’s mural studio and Jean Souverbie’s painting studio. He lived and worked primarily in the French capital; in 1988 he was elected professor at the School of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (serving until 1990). He died in Athens on 19 January 2009. His path belongs to the Greek artistic diaspora of Paris, sustained by steady ties to Greece.

Between the 1950s and 1960s Molfessis shifted from the figure toward abstraction, adopting a restricted palette and a gestural hand. From the early 1960s he explored computer technology, translating codes/punched tape into visual structures. From the late 1960s he turned to reliefs and installations in hammered lead, polyester, and metals; in the 1990s he developed “circuits” and anthropomorphic forms on transparent or colored supports. Two emblematic works encapsulate this research: Hydrogen (1969, lead sheet in polyester, Alpha Bank Art Collection) and Iron Corridor (1990, polyester and iron, National Gallery of Greece), both condensing his dialogue with matter and the technological image.

Key solo exhibitions mark the stages of his practice: Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens (22 March–28 April 1990); Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art (now MOMus – Museum of Contemporary Art), Thessaloniki (1991); P. & M. Kytheriotis Foundation, Andros, Ploes V: In Memory of the Future (1999); Kalfayan Galleries, Athens (posthumous, 2022). Internationally he participated in the São Paulo Biennial (1963), the Venice Biennale (1972), Europalia ’82 (Brussels), and the Paris Salons. His works are held in public collections including the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum (e.g., Iron Corridor, 1990), MOMus – Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Alpha Bank Art Collection (e.g., Hydrogen, 1969).

Selected Bibliography

  1. Lexicon of Greek Artists: Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, 16th–20th c., vol. 3 (L–P). Athens: Melissa, 2000.
  2. Molfessis, Iason. Large-Scale Sculpture: Drawings – Texts. Athens: Kastaniotis, 1997.
  3. Molfessis (solo-exhibition catalogue). Athens: Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, 22 March–28 April 1990 (texts by Ioanna Ifaistou, Alexandros Xydis, Charles Delloye; dialogue Kostas Axelos – I. Molfessis).
  4. Schina, Athina (ed.). Iason Molfessis — Ploes V: In Memory of the Future (exhibition catalogue). Andros: P. & M. Kytheriotis Foundation, 1999.
  5. National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum. Permanent Collection (texts by Tonia Giannoudaki). Athens: National Gallery, 2006.

This biography was created with the assistance of AI.