Konstantinos Pylarinos: The Master of Byzantine Woodcarving in America
Vasiliki Pylarinos & Vassiliki Rapti
ISBN 978-1-935244-29-5
About the Book
Konstantinos Pylarinos (1940-2021) decorated over 100 Orthodox churches in the United States and Canada with his Byzantine-style woodcarving, including icon screens, epitaphia, music stands, chairs, and other objects. This book describes his life, artistic process, studio in Astoria, New York, and many honors. It also includes color images of many of his artworks. It demonstrates why he is known as the Master of Byzantine Woodcarving in America!
About the authors
Vasiliki Pylarinos (1943–2020) co-authored this book to honor the legacy in Byzantine woodcarving of her late husband, Konstantinos Pylarinos. She and her husband married in 1970 in Greece, and in 1974 they immigrated to the United States. They worked together for 36 years at the Byzantion Woodworking Company in Astoria, Queens, New York. All of her husband’s accomplishments were made possible due to her support. She will always be remembered for her dedication to her family, her piousness, and her love of nature
Vassiliki Rapti, holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature with an emphasis in drama. She is the author of the monographs Ludics in Surrealist Theatre and Beyond and Air, Water, Earth, Fire in the Poetry of Nikos Engonopoulos and of several poetry collections and volumes of translations, including Transitorium, Bathed in Moonlight, and Nanos Valaoritis’s Nightfall Hotel: A Surrealist Romeo and Juliet. Her dedication to education led her to teach Modern Greek at Harvard University, where she co-founded and co-chaired the Ludics Seminar at the Mahindra Humanities Center. She is the Founding Director of the Cambridge-based non-profit organization Citizen TALES* Commons. (TALES*: Translators – Artists – Ludics Learners – Explorers – Storytellers.) Here she brings together a diverse transnational community of interdisciplinary scholars, artists, and aspiring young leaders who care about equitable futures and work together to thrive in their research and creative projects, positively impacting their communities.
