Nassos Daphnis, Greek, 1914 to 2010, minimalist silkscreen depicting an abstract composition. Inscribed, SS 12 78, 1978. Signed in pencil, lower right. Titled, dated, and numbered 61 of 120, lower left. Nassos Daphnis was a Greek born American abstract painter, sculptor and tree peony breeder. In the 1950s, Daphnis traveled back to Greece with the assistance of the G.I. Bill. While there he began to see the stark, clear light change his perception of the buildings and forms around him. Structures were simplified and became geometric planes of pure color. Following this trop, Daphnis developed his color plane theory and focused on geometric abstraction with a restricted color palette of only black, white and primary colors. This became his signature style and these works are often characterized as being painted in the Hard edge style of geometric abstraction. His style is frequently compared with Piet Mondrian; however, Daphnis saw Mondrian s approach as a jumping off point. Daphnis was also described as an abstract imagist, a term which arose from a 1961 exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, called American Abstract Expressionists and Imagists, in which he participated. European Graphic Art Prints and Collectibles.