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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, Apiranthos Museum Naxos, at the Modern Art Gallery in Hydra, and at his 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. He and his group were recognized as national heroes at the opening ceremonies of his art show.
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.
Athens, Greece 2004
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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.
Artist Elias Christeas - 25
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