Kastritsis Yannis (1960)

Born in Daphne, Evrytania in 1960, he studied at the Thessaloniki School of Fine Arts (1985-1990) under Vangelis Dimitreas and continued with postgraduate studies at the Brooklyn College of New York (1990-1995) on a Charles G. Awards scholarship. In 1995-1997 he obtained a domestic Greek state scholarship for a printmaking project. He teaches since 1993, initially in private education and at various training institutes and at the Graphic Design Dept of the Athens Technological Educational Institutes in 1997-2016; since 2007 he teaches at the University of Western Macedonia's School of Fine & Applied Arts, where he is assistant professor since 2014.
His inspiration comes from observing mature and organic elements which he processes and enriches so that they shed any direct references to their roots. He structures his spaces into different levels, with their sharp outlines and tangible volumes bespeaking a sound knowledge of drawing. He demonstrates the sculptural qualities of colour, which he handles with skill and dynamism to invest his compositions with rhythm. The alternating earthy and bright scales of hues explores man's relations with the natural environment and helps understand their interaction through the act of painting. The cycle of nature becomes the cycle of human life, often in the absence of the human figure itself as it recedes to leave behind just traces, breaths and shadows.
He has presented his work in solo exhibitions and has participated in dozens of group shows—indicatively, “Thesis Exhibition” Westbeth Gallery, New York 1993; “All Fashioned”, Larissa Centre for Contemporary Art (2001); Lazariston Monastery, Thessaloniki (2001); "12 Visual Artists converse with 12 poets", Melina Merkouri Cultural Centre, 2013; "The memory of revolution", ASFA-Nikos Kessanlis Hall, Athens 2018. In addition to painting he has practised short filmmaking, photography and sculpture.