Deux Personnages

Antoine Malliarakis aka Mayo

Antoine Malliarakis, who used the name "Mayo" spent time at Atelier 17 in Paris. Though engraving was encouraged and many of the artists experimented with the "automatic line" some continued to work figuratively with etching and added engraving, such as this work.

Two figures lean against a dark wall, engaged in conversation. The background is a barren landscape with broken trees, perhaps destroyed in a bombing attack. The whole composition is created with lines, including the black areas.

Mayo's work was represented in the important 1944 exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in New York titled "Hayter and Studio 17" which included 60 prints by 32 artists from 12 nations.

Stamped on verso of this impression, in a circle: "Celni Urad Praha" (Prague Customs Office) indicating it had passed Czech customs in order to be exhibited in Prague.