First Cyclops, #I

Theodoros Stamos was very active in the early years of the Abstract Expressionist movement, and with his close friends Barnett Newman, Kurt Seligman and Mark Rothko, shared an interest in primitive, biomorphic, and mythological imagery. Stamos' mature style coalesced in the late 1940s and involved muted colors and soft-edged organic shapes somewhat influenced by the work of Milton Avery and William Baziotes. First Cyclops #1 is an exceptionally fine example of Stamos' early work and of biomorphism, which was, in the United States, the significant link between European Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. His paintings of the 1940s drew on a variety of sources including mythology, natural forms and Oriental calligraphy. They are juxtapositions of what he described as shadowy presences, translucent hazes, and delicate calmness. First Cyclops #1 offers mysterious organic and mythological forms set in a roughly textured background.