Engraver Giannis Pipinis was born in Lesvos in 1945. He studied painting, typography and book art at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1962 – 1971) under G. Mavroidis, K. Grammatopoulos and G. Papadakis. Meanwhile he worked in various magazines as a cartoonist. He continued his studies in stage design under V. Vassiliadis and then pursued studies in engraving in Paris at the École des Beaux-arts (1982 – 1985).

He worked in graphic arts enterprises as an artistic consultant and engraver designer, he taught in various schools of graphic arts, he edited and illustrated books and publications, he produced theatre sets and costumes and from 1972 he worked at the Banknote Printing Works of the Bank of Greece as a banknote engraver. His work was presented in many group exhibitions including the Pan-Hellenic exhibitions of 1967, 1971, 1973 and 1987, the 1984 Intergrafik exhibition in Berlin, the 1988 Mediterranean Engraving Biennial in Crete, the exhibition organized by the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum on Post-WWII Engraving (1988) and the tribute to Contemporary Greek Painting and Engraving in Moscow (1988).

He was a full member of the Advisory Council of the Hellenic Post and a founding member of the Greek Printmakers’ Association (1987).