Yanis Zagorianakos
Yanis Zagorianakos (YZagor) is a painter and craftsman living and working between Aegina and Amorgos, Greece.
Born in Athens, he grew up between Athens, Johannesburg and London. He holds a BSc in Industrial Chemistry and Design from City University London and worked as a project scientist and designer before turning to arts and crafts. His professional creative practice began in 1995, and he has focused on painting full time since 2004.
Self-taught as a painter, he has developed his practice through experimentation with materials and especially water, in Greece, England and India. He works on paper, wood, fabric, metal and plexiglass, using paint, collage and oxidations. Water, memory and landscape are recurring concerns, alongside an interest in how materials respond and participate in the making of a work.
In 2013, he co-founded The Cool Projects and Aegina Retreats with ceramist Marina Coriolano-Lykourezos. Alongside his painting, he develops workshops bringing together creative practice, materials and observation of nature.
The aspect of randomness is hugely important in his work, and he encourages it. He looks for the accidents and what these can offer to the work. He values the process of creation more then the end result, which, in many ways is as ephemeral as the process itself.
Selected exhibitions
2026 Mnemosyne — Water, Memory and Landscape, Amorgos. Concept, artistic direction
Anamnisi — Althea Ceramics Art Gallery, Aegiali.
Whispering Water — Cultural center Simonidis Amorgianos Chora,
Mneme — Old School of Kolofana, collective exhibition.
2026 —Whispering Water- with Marina Coriolano Lykourezou in Athens Chili Art Gallery
2025-2026 “I Called Winter Serenity…” Group exhibition at the Municipal Gallery of Aegina
2025 —The Space of Time. Proka, Aegina
2024 —Night Blues Cultural Center of Patmos, Greece.
2024 —States of Mind; Abstract Portraits of a Busy Mind. Cultural Center of Patmos, Greece.
2023 —Pause Group exhibition, Markellos Tower, Aegina.
2022 —Toponymia, Markellos Tower, Aegina.
2007— Astrolavos Gallery, Athens.
2004 — Anemos Gallery, Athens.