Tetsis Panayiotis

He took his first lessons from Claus Frieslander in 1940. The same year he met Dimitris Pikionis and Nikos Chatzikyriakos-Ghika, who he considers to be his real teachers. From 1943 to 1949 he studied at the School of Fine Arts under Dimitrios Biskinis, Pavlos Mathiopoulos and Konstantinos Parthenis. On a scholarship from the State Scholarship Service he completed his studies at the School of Fine Arts of Paris (1953-1956) where he was taught the art of copperplate by E. Goerg.
Commencing his exhibition activity in 1948 with the organization of his first solo show, he has presented his work in solo, group, Panhellenies and international exhibitions of painting and engraving. Among others he participated in the Biennales of Sao Paolo in 1957 and 1965 and Alexandria in 1959 and the International Exhibitions of Engraving at Lugano in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964. In 1970, even though he was appointed the delegate of Greece to the Venice Biennale, he refused to participate because of the political situation in Greece. He has also taken part in the exhibitions of the group Junction A of which he has been a member since 1949 and Junction B. In 1983 his series Street Market was presented at the National Gallery which in 1999 organized a retrospective exhibition of his work.
Since 1951 he has worked as a lecturer to the Chair of Freehand Drawing at the Architectural School of the National Technical University while from 1958 to 1962 he taught at the Athenian Technological Institute. In 1958 he participated in the founding of the Free School of the Fine Arts (later the Vakalo Professional School of the Decorative Arts) where he taught until 1976 when he was elected professor at the School of Fine Arts. He remained in that position till 1991, having been elected Rector in 1989, and in 1993 he became a member of the Athens Academy.
Remaining faithful to figurative painting and fashioning a personal expressionistic style, he depicts scenes from everyday life, portraits, landscapes and still lifes, placing particular importance on the role of color and light. His artistic creation also includes engravings and wall paintings for public buildings and churches.