Art Critique on the occasion of Ianni Nikou's last personal exhibition (October 1998) Art "ARGO" Gallery, in Athens
By Dora Heliopoulou - Rogan, Phd History of Art, Art - Critic

...Powerful, dynamic, fully worthy of a master painter's touch on canvas, Ianni Nikou's ability in artistic design is absolutely stunning...
In his pencil drawings, his graphic, infinitely vigorous and musical, implies the "presence" of many more colours than the obvious two, black and white. What is truly amazing, is that Nikou never does use the advantage of a first rough draft. On the contrary, his pencil drawings emerge as self - existent from the very first moment.

This same, incomparable mastery of technical background is clearly apparent in his oil paintings on canvas as well; color is the dominant force in plotting the dynamic structure of each one of this syntheses. Moreover, his sense and choice of "color" is found in harmony with absolutely any kind of theme, whether this might be derived from the Greek Mythology, or by the "Apocalypse" of St. John.

And indeed, Ianni Nikou's works are highly indicative of one of the most resourceful of imaginations. By means of a purely metaphysical code, which is his personal vehicle for artistic creation, the painter achieves to make an implicative allusion to the corporate structure of human beliefs, fears and fantasies that has survived along with Mankind, from ancient times up to the present day.

Owing to this ingeniously unique use of dynamic structure and color, Iannis Nikou, in each one of his masterpieces manages to entangle us into the plot of a fully performed drama, without us needing the assistance of any sort of narrative part.

And it is at this point, when it might be very well justified to say, that Iannis Nikou has so immensely sharpened his tools of metaphysical vision, that the quality of his work has reached its peak.