Born in San Francisco in 1951, stern icon paintings of the saints in Wheeling, West Virginia's Greek Orthodox Church are among Zenos' earliest memories. He began to sculpt as a child under the kitchen table using dough given to him by his mother while she baked bread. Inspired by Michelangelo, Bernini, Carpeaux, Rodin and the poetry of Eliot, Frost, Roethke and Graves, he reads widely in philosophy, history, poetry, literature and the sciences. All inform his work.
Zenos attended Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts by scholarship and holds an MFA from University of Pennsylvania. He had long been an Academician of the National Academy of Design and a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society. Named "The American Rodin" at Japan's Third Rodin Grand Prize International Invitational Exhibition and with more than 100 public and private bronze figure and portrait sculpture commissions, he is best known for "Freedom," his signature work. Located at String Theory High School, 16th and Vine Streets, Philadelphia, the image of this sculpture has been appreciated by millions around the world through social media. For more information, please visit Zenos on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ZenosFrudakis and on the web at www.zenosfrudakis.com.
This building was formerly rented by GlaxoSmithKline for its world headquarters. It will open in September 2013 as a Charter School for the Arts and Sciences. For information about the sculpture, please see this link: http://zenosfrudakis.com/sculptures/public/Freedom.html
