Gallery North is pleased to present The Dynamics of Uncertain Perception a retrospective of abstract expressionist, Athos Zacharias (1927-2019). Returning for Gallery North’s 60th anniversary, Zacharias first exhibited at Gallery North in the gallery’s inaugural group exhibition in 1965. The current retrospective features a selection of small, medium, and large scale works spanning his entire career. Zacharias’ work focuses on the exploration of spatial ambiguity and the evolution of “Zach’s Space.” Though he experimented with geometric abstraction and op art, he was primarily influenced by the action painters, Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline. Representational elements appear as emphatic, decisive, and assertive gestures capturing the artist’s momentary perception. Elaine de Kooning once described his works as a “unique equilibrium – a poetic sense of speed fixed in ice.” Architectural elements such as windows and doors lend structure to otherwise elusive, fleeting and intangible spaces.

Born in 1927, Athos Zacharias studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and Cranbrook Academy. Zacharias was an assistant to and lifelong friend of Willem de Kooning and was a member of “The Club,” a group of artists and critics that defined the Abstract Expressionist movement. In 1962 he built his home and studio in East Hampton where he lived and worked until his death in 2019.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by the Field Family, Jefferson’s Ferry, Pet ER 24/7, Printers 3 and Suffolk County’s Department of Economic Development and Planning. A special thank you to our community partner, The Long Island Museum. The exhibition, and reception, and book discussion will be free and open to the public.