Iconomachia, the first solo show in New York by Vassilis H, will open at Michael Steinberg Fine Art on May 31st, and remain on view until July 13th, 2007. For this project, the artist has transformed – some might say deformed – mass produced religious images – into startlingly contemporary works of art. The title of the exhibition makes reference to the sectarian War of the Icons that caused deep divisions within the orthodox churches of Byzantium. Vassilis H notes that he could not comfortably exhibit this body of work in his Greek homeland, where such religious issues continue to inflame deep and sometimes violent passions.

Commenting on the work of Vassilis H, critic Micaela Giovanotti has written:

Fluid Drips and swirls of polychromatic acrylic paint actively deform immaculate, mass reproduced religious icons. The embellishments of richly saturated, brilliant colors invade like slowly flowing, thick lava, covering eyes, mouth, or the entire face of the holy image preventing it from freely expressing any consoling or emphatic emotion.

The altered, some might say, desecrated, icons are now rendered impotent. Devoid of their dogmatic aura, their primal spiritual energy that for centuries nourished generations, they are transformed into mere objects, their transcendental power dissipated in the ether.

Vassilis H was born in Athens, Greece. Currently, he divides his time between Athens and New York City. In 2007, his work was featured in the 1st Contemporary Art Biennale of Thessaloniki. Vassilis H received his education at the Sheffield College of Fine Arts, Sheffield, U.K., and the School of Fine Arts, Athens. Greece.