Yiannis Franjeskos, painter, photographer and sculptor, was born and raised in Naxos, the island where he continues to spend his days creating. He is considered one of the great photographers of our time. He studied at the Academy of Arts (1969) in Montreal, Canada and at the School of Modern Photography (New York department, 1972) in Montreal, Canada. In 2003 he published his first photography album referring to Naxos, all copies of which were sold out within a year. In 2015 he published his second album, also dedicated to his birthplace, Naxos and Small Cyclades. In 2020 he launched an album which included photographs from Cyclades and in 2023 from India and the Omo Valley of Africa. In these last publications, Franjeskos’ creative lens captures the original cultures and the everyday life of a variety of tribes. During the last years he has been dedicated exclusively to his sculptures, his greatest love, as he himself admits.
DISTINCTIONS
First award in photography in Greece (1981). Another first award for best poster (1998) from the Ministry of the Aegean, Greece. In August 2015, two of his pictures were presented in a special fifteen-day exhibition in the Louvre Museum, along with photographs by other distinguished photographers. In 2021 he participated in the EISA international competition on the subject Faces where he won the first prize in Greece and the sixth in the international competition. He has also received distinctions in many group exhibitions.
George Papageorgiou Journalist-Connoisseur of Fine Arts