One of the biggest exhibitions in Luccio’s 30-year international art career, Tales from The Greek features “large canvasses, found objects, drypoints, etchings, charcoal drawings, collagraphs, ink, mixed media, pencil and monotypes”.

The book is a collaboration with award-winning writer John Hughes, enriched by Luccio’s artistic works, and features eight adaptions of Greek myths and tragedies.

“When I read the stories the first time, I knew this was going to be a monumental project,” Luccio said.

“I had worked with John before, on The Garden of Sorrows, which has had great critical acclaim.

“John’s words inspired so many ideas along the themes of love, power, war, hate, revenge, sadness and ambition, together with many other emotions and traits.

“I love challenging myself to create new work and am constantly seeking ways to expand my artistic ability and creative scope.

“My hope for these works is that they not only resonate in a traditional way, but are also seen as fresh and contemporary interpretations of Greek mythical imagery.”

Award-winning writer John Hughes. (Photo supplied)

This collaboration has resulted in a 401-page, coffee-table book that incorporates Hughes’ version of Philoctetes, by Sophocles, a “classic triangle of trust and deceit”, as well as a fresh interpretation of Antigone, which sees the protagonist’s life told in reverse.

The book also includes Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Euripides’ Hecuba and the adapted stories of Daedalus and Icarus, Sisyphus, and Achilles.

“It took me a lot of time to read the stories and absorb their meanings,” Luccio said.

“Even during my time in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I drew numerous drafts and sketches to capture the fleeting inspiration that came to me over the years.”

The artworks are confronting, commanding the viewer’s attention with striking drypoint depictions and charcoal drawings replete with sculptural chiaroscuro, resulting in striking, dramatic renderings of the stories they accompany.

Luccio was an artist-in-residence at Sydney Grammar when he met Hughes, the head librarian at the time.

Hughes invited Luccio to collaborate on his novel, The Garden of Sorrows, after seeing his artworks.

“For Tales of the Greek, our second project, I was inspired by his narrative adaptations,” Luccio said.

“I immediately started preparing small frames from the stories – about 20 or 30 for each one – and began to develop them into more extensive works.

“We intended to have as many illustrations as possible for the book, to give the reader the opportunity to dip between the words and the artistic representations.”

Tales of the Greek. (Photo supplied)

Leafing through the pages of Tales from the Greek reveals Hughes’ intimate interpretations of age-old stories, as well as the blood, brutality, pathos and clarity of Luccio’s works.

The book will be available after the official launch on November 19, though the first 500 copies are available for pre-sale on the website.