Innocent flame Print

In 2015, at age 33, Yiannis Karapanos suddenly burst into the Athenian art scene, seemingly out of nowhere, and took it by a storm. Self-taught, and devoid of art school induced biases, he proceeded to create works of amazing originality. Following his work from the beginning, it is apparent how he went from timid steps to leaps of imagination. The range of his subjects and styles is quite wide, naturally, because he is such a free spirit, and it is rooted in his brilliant, charming, gregarious and colorful personality, authentic, spontaneous, unpredictable, sensitive, daring, generous and full of love, with a touch of innocence, playfulness and humor, not to mention the creative energy of an exuberant child. Karapanos quickly became a master of the canvas, who uses any number of techniques: brush, knife, fingers, thinners, flame and his own experimental "secret sauce", to bring about vivid colors and dreamy compositions, to speak freely and send messages, to tell stories, and to set the mood anywhere from the soothing, contemplation and deep thinking, to the psychedelic, and even indignation. Just as his discerning eye puts shape and color to the fantastical on canvas, so his titles set an imaginative tone, with disconcerting names like "The crucifixion of the necktie", "The attraction of the ejaculation", "Global mutation", "Rusted ideas", "Lack of oxygen, "Sinister savior", "The wind of the thought", "The soul in the color", "Sunken ignorance", and so on. Yiannis Karapanos was born in Mesolongi, in Western Greece, on May 8, 1982. He grew up in Athens, and studied information technology. In his short career, this prolific producer of symbolic abstract and surrealistic paintings, with a hint of expressionism, has mounted solo shows, and taken part in group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.