Yiannis Adamakos was born in 1952 in Pyrgos, prefecture of Ilia. He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1973 – 1978) and continued with independent studies in Paris (1979 – 1981).

He has held solo exhibitions in Athens (Nees Morfes art gallery 1978, 1983, 1990, 1992, 1996, etc.), in Pyrgos and Thessaloniki and has taken part in group exhibitions, including the exhibition Reminiscences – Transformations – Quests which was held at the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum in 1985, the exhibition at the Kunsthalle in Berlin (1991), the Riparte in Rome (1995), etc.