My work is rooted in an exploration of urban heterotopias, transient, fragile spaces that emerge within the built environment. Through a narrative-driven approach, my work engages with the tensions between materiality, form, and the liminal nature of contemporary urban existence. The painterly spaces I construct are initially indeterminate, yet they encapsulate a search for something definite—a longing for clarity in an ever-shifting world. My work dwells between the solid and the imaginary, between tangible structures and the potential for something else. This negotiation—between what is and what could be—drives my inquiry into how these worlds influence reality, an idea central to my understanding of the relationship between contemporary painting and lived experience.
Denim serves as a primary surface in my practice—an industrial fabric embedded with cultural memory, particularly within urban life and youth subcultures. Its associations with labor, movement, and everyday wear make it a conceptual bridge between the physical and the symbolic, reinforcing the transient, layered nature of the spaces I depict. By employing this material, I challenge traditional painting conventions, expanding the discourse on materiality and form while grounding my work in the textures of contemporary urban life.
The figures inhabiting these spaces are rendered as outlined forms, vacant bodies caught in transition. They are neither fully present nor absent, navigating uncertain terrains that embody the ephemeral nature of identity within the urban sphere. These liminal protagonists oscillate between figuration and abstraction, akin to theatrical characters or figures dissolving into their surroundings. Their suspended presence underscores the performative aspects of urban movement and the transient narratives embedded within public spaces.
Raised in the center of Athens, my practice is shaped by the city’s physical and conceptual landscape. My engagement with the city’s street culture and architectural palimpsests informs a symbol-based visual language that interweaves personal and collective memory. Through a process akin to temporal archaeology, I investigate spatial narratives, cultural remnants or transplants, and the interplay of time and place. My work ultimately seeks to articulate the fluid intersections of memory, identity, and materiality within the contemporary cityscape.
Artist Statement /
Anestis Ioannou (b.1992) is a visual artist who lives and works in Athens. He holds a Master’s Degree (MFA) from LUCA School of Arts, Brussels (2018). In 2020 he was awarded with the ARTWORKS fellowship, supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. His work has been exhibited in Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia, Serbia, France, Germany and Austria.
His work is part of many private collections in Europe, as well as the collection of the Bank of Greece.
Exhibitions in museums and public spaces include: Rebetiko, Tsitsanis Museum (2025); ENCORE: New Greek Painting, Athens Municipal Gallery, curated by Christoforos Marinos, Eleni Koukou, Theophilos Tramboulis; Eidyllia Odos, Contemporary Art Museum of Crete, curated by Maria Maragou (2022); Rebetiko, Athens Municipal Center of Arts, curated by Christoforos Marinos (2022); Acropolis at the bottom, Nikos Kessanlis Hall, Athens School of Fine Arts, curated by Katerina Nikou (2018); Monuments, but not heavy, Temporary Art Center (TAC), Eindhoven (2018); Inspire/ Effective spaces, MoMus Museum of Contemporary Art Thessaloniki (2015), and the Biennale ‘Mulhouse 017’ (2017), France.
He had two solo exhibitions in Athens, at Crux Galerie (After Sunset, 2021 and The Seekers, 2025).
Education:
2016 – 2018 – MFA, LUCA School of Arts, Brussels, Belgium
2010 – 2015 – School of Fine Arts and of the Sciences of Art, University of Ioannina (UOI), Greece
2013 – 2014 – Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha (UCLM), Cuenca, Spain
Fellowships / Awards / Museum Programs:
2025 – EMST Mentorship program with Ivan Argote, EMST (National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens)
2020 – Artworks: Stavros Niarchos Fellowship Program, 2020, Athens (GR)
Solo Shows :
2025 – The Seekers / Crux Galerie / Athens (GR)
2021 – After Sunset / curated by Katerina Nikou / Crux Galerie / Athens (GR)
Selected Group Shows :
2025 – (Upcoming Nov. 2025) What you wear is what you are (curated by Maria Marangou, Maria Panayides, Stavros Kavalaris) / Former Public Tobacco Factory (Kapnergostasio) / Athens (GR)
– (Upcoming Oct 2025) Ostrako II (curated by Maira Stefou) / Epigraphic Museum / Athens (GR)
–(ON VIEW) Journeys in Art, Works from the collection of the Bank of Greece ( curated by Charis Kanellopoulou) / Municipal Gallery of Chania / Crete (GR)
– Moms (curated by Nadja Argyropoulou and The Callas) / The Callas Farm / Argolida (GR)
– Art Athina Pop-up (curated by Savvas Sagioglou) / Athenaeum InterContinental Hotel / Athens (GR)
– (ON VIEW) What you wear is what you are (curated by Maria Marangou, Maria Panayides, Stavros Kavalaris) / Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete (CCA) / Rethymno (GR)
– Inhabiting (curated by Vicky Tsirou) / Amphicar / Athens (GR)
– Rebetiko (curated by Christoforos Marinos) / Tsitsanis Museum / Trikala (GR)
2024 – Art Athina, art fair / Zappeion Mansion / Athens (GR)
– SPARK Art Fair / Marx Halle / Vienna (AT)
2023 – ENCORE: New Greek Painting (curated by Eleni Koukou, Christophoros Marinos, and Theofilos Trampoulis) / Municipal Gallery of Athens / Athens (GR)
– Bestiary: Artefacts | Allegories | Representations / Crux Galerie / Athens (GR)
2022 – MATAROA (nominee for Mataroa awards) / TIF- Helexpo / Thessaloniki (GR)
– Art Athina, art fair (two-person exhibition with Dimitris Rentoumis) / Zappeion Mansion / Athens (GR)
– Eidillia Odos (at CCA) (curated by Maria Maragou) / Contemporary Art Museum of Crete (CCA) / Rethymno (GR)
– Rebetiko (curated by Christoforos Marinos) / OPANDA Municipality of Athens (Athens Center of Arts) / Athens (GR)
– DEI meets art (curated by Katerina Koskina) / Old Thermal Power Plant of PPC (DEI) / Athens (GR)
– ATHENSYN II: GOING VIRAL (curated by Sotirios Bahtsetzis and Katja Ehrhardt) / STEINZEIT Gallery / Berlin (DE)
– Eidillia Odos (curated by Maria Maragou) / Technopolis City of Athens / Athens (GR)
2021 – CC (curated by Olympia Tzortzi) / Callirrhoë / Athens (GR)
-Art- Athina Pop Up, art fair / King George Hotel / Athens (GR)
– A Poem For You (curated by Katerina Nikou) / Crux Galerie / Athens (GR)
– Art-Athina Virtual for Crux Galerie, art fair / Athens (GR)
2020 – Art-Athina Virtual / Athens (GR)
2019 – Foundation(s) / Hydroexpress project / Piraeus (GR)
– Outdoor Video Projection / Kandija Bay / Losinj (HR)
– In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer / Ela projects / Athens (GR)
2018 – Acropolis at the bottom (curated by Katerina Nikou) / Nikos Kessanlis Hall, ASFA / Athens (GR)
– to Flower to Flow / Sint-Lucas / Brussels (BE)
– Reunion / Kunstpodium T / Tilburg (NL)
– Since when don’t they like pink? / Back to Athens (Visis 105) / Athens (GR)
– Nothing special: just poetics of becoming / Cheapart Gallery / Athens (GR)
– Monuments, but not heavy / Temporary Art Center (TAC) / Eindhoven (NL)
– Still Absent / NOTUS studio / Athens (GR)
2017 – Biennale ‘Mulhouse 017’ / Parc Expo / Mulhouse (FR)
– Is it you or is it me? – (two-person exhibition) / Pink House / Antwerp (BE)
– AnD / HOGC 0.50 / Leuven (BE)
– Take over, ‘DOI presents: Anestis Ioannou’ / Kavka / Antwerp (BE)
2016 – Aristotelous project: Antagonism / Kalfayan Galleries / Thessaloniki (GR)
– Nothing special: just not opium / Cheapart Gallery / Athens (GR)
– 1460 ArtDays / Artwall Athens project space / Athens (GR)
– Crossing the limit – by FIST / Artwall Athens project space / Athens (GR)
2015 – In Art (2015-16) / Zina Athanassiadou Gallery / Thessaloniki (GR)
– Color ‘n’ Space (degree project show) / UOI / Ioannina (GR)
– SAF (street art festival) / Helexpo TIF / Thessaloniki (GR)
– Tank of dreams / Cultural center of Eleusina “Leonidas Kanellopoulos” / Eleusina GR)
– The Tangle of Emotions / Municipal Gallery of Ioannina / Ioannina (GR)
– Inspire/ Effective spaces / Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art (MMCA) / Thessaloniki (GR)
– Conversations / The Loft (by Collage) / Athens (GR)
2014 – Art and the city / City Link – Spyrou Miliou Gallery / Athens (GR)
2013 – Fear: The art negotiation / Conference center ‘Karolos Papoulias’ / Ioannina (GR)
Curating / Organizing:
2019 – DELIVERART / moving project in the center of Athens / in collaboration with Myrto Katsimicha, Marina Papadaki, and Vangelis Savvas, Athens (GR)
2017 – 2020 – NOTUS Studio / independent project space and artist residence program / in collaboration with Vangelis Savvas, Athens (GR)
Residencies:
2018 -On-Site, “YUGOSLAV SOCIALIST MONUMENTS AND MEMORIAL SITES”, fully funded by the German Cultural Foundation, CZKd, Gegenwartskunst Siegen, and MNAC, Belgrade (SRB)
Workshops and Collaborations :
2017 -‘Remainders’, workshop with Edgar Schmitz, NETWERK: center for contemporary art, Aalst (BE)
-‘Doi lab’, collaboration with Doi collective, Antwerp (BE)
2015 -‘ Inspire: effective spaces’, workshop with Hermann Pitz, MMCA, Thessaloniki (GR)
Publications, Catalogs, and Press:
2022 -’ REBETIKO ’, curated by Chistophoros Marinos, OPANDA, Exhibition catalog, and publication with contributions (GR)
– ‘Eidylia Odos’, exhibition catalog, (GR)
– ‘DEI (PPC) Meets Art’, exhibition catalog, (GR)
2021 – The Art Newspaper – After Sunset review (GR)
– Popaganda interview Anestis Ioannou After Sunset (GR)
– Athinorama interview: Anestis Ioannou (GR)
– Space 52 press: https://www.space52.gr/anestisioannou/ (GR)
2019 -’FOUNDATIONS’, Hydroexpress project’s limited edition of 100, (GR)
2018 – ‘to Flower to Flow’, catalog, (BE)
– ‘Meesterlijk Eindhoven’, article on: trendbeheer.com, (NL)
2017 – Biennale ‘Mulhouse 017’, catalog, (FR)
2015 – ‘Deconstruction’, limited edition of 20, (GR)
– ‘Color and space’ -Anestis Ioannou-, (GR)
– ‘Tank of dreams’, catalog, (GR)
-‘Inspire- Effective spaces’, catalog, (GR)
Public collections:
– Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art(MMCA), Thessaloniki (GR)