Ioannou Stavros (1945 - 2009)

Born in Athens in 1945, he studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts under N. Nikolalou and Y. Moralis, graduating in 1976. His first solo exhibition was held at the Gazette bookstore the same year.
His subject range comprises landscapes, still life and interiors, with colour as the main expressive element in his painting. The influence of abstract expressionism is evident in his work, and the apparent absence of drawing combines with the abstract rendering of the landscapes to generate a lyrical atmosphere and exude a psychographic mood.
Drawing, aquarelle and oil are his main media in the 1970s and 1980s, while in the late ’80s he creates "Houses of Cards" (Visual Game, Titanium Gallery 1988) inspired by his own childhood. Starting from playing cards, he composes and creates on canvas and paper or uses actual cards to build works with clear symbolisms, touching on the question of balance and the universal laws of destruction and creation. In 2019, ten years after his death, a retrospective of his work was held at the Euripides Art Gallery.
His oeuvre was awarded with the First Painting Prize of the Onassis Stegi (1979) and at the Balkan Exhibition of Plastic Arts in Bucharest (1980). He presented his works in over 15 solo exhibitions and participated in various major group shows in Greece and abroad, among which: Autour de la Biennale de Paris (Centre Culturel Hellénique, Paris 1982), New Dimensions in Contemporary Art, (Palazzo Mann, Todi 1985), Settanta artisti da 12 paesi dipingono l΄amore e la Pace (Chiesa Santo Spirito, Florence 1986), Peinture Grecque 1968-1988 (Commission et secrétariat du conseil des ministres des Communautés Européennes, Brussels 1988), Greek Painting in Finland (Taidehalli Museum, Helsinki 1994), Experiencing Greece: travels through an enchanted landscape (Hellenic House, Beiging 2008), etc. His works can be found in museums and private collections.