Background
Stephen Antonakos was born on November 1, 1926 in Agios Nikolaos, Laconia, Greece. He was a son of Thomas Antonakos and Evangelia (Gregory) Antonakos. In 1930, the family settled down in the United States.
Fort Hamilton High School
New York City College of Technology
National Academy of Design
Stephen Antonakos was born on November 1, 1926 in Agios Nikolaos, Laconia, Greece. He was a son of Thomas Antonakos and Evangelia (Gregory) Antonakos. In 1930, the family settled down in the United States.
Initially, Stephen Antonakos studied at Fort Hamilton High School. Later, he attended the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences (present-day New York City College of Technology).
Stephen started his career as an illustrator for ad agencies. Since the 1960's, he participated in different exhibitions across the United States and Europe. Among the most outstanding exhibitions he took part in were "Ten Outdoor Neons, Fort Worth" (1974), Documenta 6 (1977), "Chapel of the Saints" (1993), Venice Biennale (1997) and others. During that time, he created his series of pillows, that combined cloth, text, metal (including plumbing pipes and nails) and other found objects. One of the pillows from the series incorporated the word "Dream" in neon, and with that, Antonakos found his calling.
In his later works, Stephen laid neon lights behind painted canvases, or behind panels, leafed in silver or gold. During his lifetime, he created more than fifty public works, which were installed in such cities, as Athens, Bari, Dijon, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo and others.
Stephen Antonakos was known as one of the first to introduce neon in fine art world. Proscenium (2000) is one of his largest and most successful works.
In 2011, the sculptor got Lifetime Achievement Award from National Academy of Design.
His works are kept in numerous private and public collections of different museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and others.
Last Collage (50 units)
Untitled construction, Dec. 8
Blue Box Off the Wall, Blue Box, Blue Inside Corner Neon
Green Neon Incomplete Circle
Mani Sky
Four Squares
Welcome
The White Cube
Hanging Neon
Neon for Paris
Neon for La Jolla
Four Incomplete Red Neon Circles on a Pink Wall
Four Walls for the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport
Saint Anthony
Respite
White Light
Neons for the Reading Power Station
Arrival
The Transfiguration
Untitled (for my mother Evangelia)
Proscenium
Antonakos was a member of the National Academy of Design.
Antonakos’s first marriage ended in divorce. Naomi Spector became his second wife. Their marriage produced two children — Stephen B. Antonakos, a musician, and Evangelia Mary Spector Antonakos, a mathematician.
