Yannis Moralis was a multifaceted art figure among the leading ones of twentieth-century Greek art — a great painter, sculptor, printmaker, stage designer and teacher whose works reflect the wealth of his visual imagination and the broad spectrum of his quests.
He was born on April 23 / May 6, 1916 in Arta, where he spent his early years. In 1927 the family settles permanently in Athens, at Pangrati. In addition to his school, on Sundays, accompanied by his father, he attends the Sunday classes of the Athens School of Fine Arts. That is where he first meets his subsequent close friend, Nikos Nikolaou. In 1931, aged just 15, he is accepted in the preparatory course of the ASFA and prepares for the School’s entry exams. It is the time where he gets acquainted with Yannis Tsarouchis and Christos Kapralos and meets Nikos Nikolaou again. The acquaintance of Moralis with Tsarouchis, Kapralos and Nikolaou becomes a milestone in his life and his subsequent brilliant career, since apart from fellow students at the ASFA they become inseparable friends.
After graduating from the School in 1936, Yannis Moralis wins the Academy of Athens scholarship and, joined by Nikolaou, in June 1937 he travels to Italy to study in Rome.
Moralis will stay in Italy for a few months until November 1937, when he obtains approval for his transfer to Paris, where he continues with studies in fresco and mosaic. In 1939, upon the outbreak of World War II, Moralis is among those who return to serve their country. During the Occupation Moralis accepts commissions to paint portraits as a way of securing a stable income. He also remains active in printmaking.
In 1947, he marries the sculptress Aglaia Lymberaki with whom they have his son, Konstantinos. In 1949, together with other Greek painters among whom Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, Yannis Tsarouchis, Nikos Nikolaou and Nikos Engonopoulos, they set up the “Armos” art group with the aim of promoting a contemporary art movement with a new aesthetic. The following year they organise their first group exhibition at the Zappion Hall.
In 1951 he is commissioned to design the sets and costumes for the ballet Six Popular Pictures, produced by the Hellenic Choreodrama with choreography by Rallou Manou and music by Manos Hadjidakis. In 1954 he embarks on a collaboration with Theatro Technis of Karolos Koun. In 1957 he is elected professor of Painting at the ASFA. In 1958, Moralis with Yannis Tsarouchis and the sculptor Antonis Sochos represent Greece in the Biennale of Venice. Moralis exhibits 24 paintings, studies for theatre sets and costumes, lithographs and several drawings. The Biennale is also a major turning point in his career, marking the beginning of a new creative phase.
Remarkably, the first solo exhibition of Yannis Moralis comes only in 1959, at an advanced point in his professional career. The exhibition takes place at the Armos Art Gallery of no. 21 Heraklitou Street, Kolonaki. In the same year, 1959, Moralis is commissioned to decorate the exterior walls of the Athens Hilton, and the following year he creates compositions for the Xenia Hotel in Florina and the Mont Parnes.
His second solo exhibition comes in 1963 at the art gallery of the Athens Hilton, featuring works from the three previous years. His new series of COMPOSITIONS A, B, C, D, E and Ζ– Epitymvia [Funereal Compositions], which he subsequently donates to the National Gallery, were received with a lot of interest. In 1965 he is made a Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by King Constantine. It is also the year when he makes ten compositions as illustrations for the Poems of George Seferis, published by Ikaros.
With his third solo exhibition in 1972 at the Iola-Zoumboulakis Gallery, Moralis embarks on one more lifelong collaboration. From now on his painting is to experiment on a formal level with this “sparse alphabet” as described by Odysseas Elytis in his introductory text for the exhibition catalogue. The show included one more special series of compositions, the Epithalamia — large diptychs or triptychs with the figures rendered with strong curves, and with light blue, white, black and ochre as the typical colours.
When he first visited Aegina, the island reminded him strongly of Preveza, where he had spent his childhood summers. Based on this emotional connection and his love for its “astounding light”, as he often said, Moralis chose Aegina as his place of inspiration and creation. In the ’70s, he decides to build a house-studio there.
In 1978 he presents his fourth solo exhibition at the Zoumboulakis Gallery; a large series of works under the title Full Moon, made mostly in Aegina. In 1979 he is bestowed the Arts Award by the Academy of Athens. In 1983 he has a solo exhibition at the Zoumboulakis Gallery, and the same year, on August 31, he retires from the ASFA after thirty-six years of teaching. In 1988 the National Gallery hosts a major retrospective of his oeuvre. In 1996 a retrospective with works from the National Gallery is held at the Academy of Athens. In 1998 the President of the Hellenic Republic confers upon him the title of Commander of the Order of Honour. In 2000 he desings two mural compositions for the metro station Panepistimio in Athens. In 2001 the exhibition Yannis Moralis. Angels, music, poetry is held at the Benaki Museum. In 2005 a retrospective is presented in Hermoupolis, Syros. In 2008 the last exhibition in his lifetime takes place at the Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation (ΜΙΕΤ).

Solo Exhibitions
2022 Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
2022 Municipal Art Gallery of Agrinio, Agrinio, Greece
2018 Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
2016 Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
2016 Historical and Folklore Museum of Aegina, Aegina, Greece
2011 Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
2011 National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens, Greece
2010 Casa Bianca, Thessaloniki, Greece
2009 Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
2009 Alpha Bank Cultural Centre, Nafplio, Greece
2009 Historical and Folklore Museum of Aegina, Aegina, Greece
2008 Y. MORALIS – Traces, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation Museum of Contemporary Art, Andros, Greece
2008 Eynard Mansion, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Athens, Greece
2006 Y. MORALIS – theatre, music, poetry, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art
2006 Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
2005 Exhibition at Bazaiou Tower, Naxos, Greece
2005 Retrospective exhibition, The Cyclades Art Gallery, Syros, Greece
2004 Extensions (sculpture), Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens
2004 Metamorfosis Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece
2002 Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
2001 Angels, Poetry, Music, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
2001 Martinos Antique and Fine Art Gallery, Αthens, Greece
2000 National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens, Greece
1997 Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
1996 Retrospective exhibition, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
1996 National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens, Greece
1993 Art Space 24, Athens, Greece
1992 Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
1992 National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens, Greece
1992 Zita-Mi Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece
1988 Retrospective exhibition, National Gallery of Greece, Athens
1983 Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
1978 Full Moon, Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
1972 Εpithalamion, Iolas – Zoumboulakis Gallery, Athens, Greece
1963 Athens Hilton Αrt Space, Athens, Greece
1959 Armos Gallery, Athens, Greece

Group exhibitions (selection)
2022 The Soft Underbelly, Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
2018 Once Upon A Time, Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
2014 Modern Greek Printmaking – Selected Works from the Yannis Papacontantinou
Collection, 12 Star Gallery, Europe House, London, United Kingdom
2008 Aegina of Painters, Historical and Folklore Museum of Aegina, Aegina, Greece
2008 Clasical memories in the Greek modern art, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
2006 Bonhams: The Greek Sale May 2006, Bonhams, London, United Kingdom
2004 City of the Games. A journey to Contemporary Greek painting, Technopolis of the City of Athens, Greece
2000 Classical Memories in Greek Art, Onassis Cultural Center – Olympic Tower, New York, U.S.A.
1998 Fayum portraits and the 30s generetion in search of Greekness, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
1996 Art in Hilton, Hilton hotel, Athens, Greece
1994 Gravures Helleniques Contemporaines, Maison de l΄ Unesco, Paris, France
1993 Small paintings, Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
1993 30s generation Artists, Skoufa Gallery, Athens, Greece
1992 Metamorphoses of the Modern: The Greek Experience, National Gallery of Art-Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens
1985 New Dimensions in the Contemporary Art, Palazzo Manni, Todi, Italy
1985 The Hellenic Dimension, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (Illinois), USA
1985 19th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Monte Carlo, Monaco
1983 Modern greek prints, The Fine Art Society Ltd, London, United Kingdom
1981 National Bank of Greece Collection, National Gallery-Alexandros Soutsos Museum, Athens, Greece
1981 Christmas Cards 1981, Zoumboulakis Gallery, Athens, Greece
1979 International Art Fair, Basel, Switcherland
1979 Contemporary greek painters and print makers, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
1978 Zeitgenoessische Griechische Malerei und Graphik, Institut fuer Auslandsbeziehungen, Stuttgart, Germany
1978 Objets de Grece, Galerie Paul Facchetti, Paris, France
1978 Pictures of Greek Art, Zappeion Mansion, Αthens, Greece
1972 Group show, Zoumboulakis Galleries, Athens, Greece
1965 Tapestry Group Show, Athens Art Gallery Hilton, Αthens, Greece
1958 29 Biennale di Venezia 1958, Venice, Italy
1956 Group Show, Saggitarius Gallery, New York, USA
1949 Exhibition of the artist group Armos, Zappeion Mansion, Αthens, Greece
1940 3rd Panhellenic Exhibition, Zappeion Mansion, Αthens, Greece