Biographies

Mytaras Dimitris

Dimitris Mytaras was born in 1934 in Chalkida. He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1953 – 1958) under Yiannis Moralis and Spyros Papaloukas. He then went to France to study stage design at the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs as well as interior design at the Metiers d’Art in Paris (1960 – 1964) on a scholarship granted by the State Scholarships Foundation (I.K.Y.). In 1964, having completed his studies, he returned to Greece and became the head of the interior decoration workshop at the Athens Technological Organization. In 1975 he was elected professor at the Athens School of Fine Arts.

His works were presented in Athens, in solo exhibitions (first solo exhibitions held at: Zygos gallery/1961, Hilton Hotel/1964, Astor gallery/1965, Merlin gallery/1966, TECHNI Macedonian Art Society/Thessaloniki, 1969, Zoumboulakis Galleries/1970), and from 1972 onwards, in several solo exhibitions abroad (Galleria Forni, Bologna in 1972, Galleria Santa Croce, Florence in 1972 etc.). Previously, he had presented his works in group exhibitions such as the Pan-Hellenic Exhibitions of 1957 and 1960, and the Exhibition of Young Painters at Zygos gallery in 1958 (first prize). He also took part in the 1961 Pan-Hellenic Youth Exhibition. He also participated in a several international events, including the 1962 Salon d’Automne in Paris, the Venice Biennale (1972), the Sao Paulo Art Biennial (1981), the 1992 International art show in Tokyo. Major retrospective exhibitions of his work were held in 1989 at Vellidis Congress Centre and Eirmos Gallery in Thessaloniki and, three years later, in Athens (Kreonidis gallery). In the same year, a retrospective exhibition of Mytaras’ work was held in France (Château Chenonceau) and in 1995 at the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum and at the Pieridis Museum in Nicosia.

In addition to painting, he was also involved in illustration, decoration and stage design, and his articles and studies on art were published in magazines and as independent publications. In March 2008 he was elected full member of the Academy of Athens. Dimitris Mytaras died on February 16, 2017, after having become blind. He was a member of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece.

Artist's artworks