About Ioannis Petrakis
Ioannis Petrakis was born in Elounda in 1962. In 1979 he moved to Athens where he studied drawing, painting and sculpture.
He progressed to work on Byzantine Icons at Themis Petrou atelier. They accepted commissions together and painted Icons in churches across Greece and overseas, particularly in the USA.
In 1993 he returned to Elounda along with his wife Yiorgia (Georgia) Kargas, also a painter, where they established their own workshop.
They participate in many exhibitions throughout Greece and continue to work in Church hagiography.
Ioannis Petrakis, as a genuine representative of the Cretan Byzantine Icon school is interested not only in the clarity of form but especially in the absolute use of the traditional materials and techniques.
His work has developed through his continuous - but not extreme - experimentation, leading him to a more personal use of those traditional means.
The intense colouration and light of the Cretan school is interpreted, through the surfaces he chooses to work on, his plain almost Doric outlines and colour tones, into a genuine artistic expression.
International magazines, including National Geographic, Frommers Guide, AA World Travel Guides and others, have referred to his work in detail, through articles and very positive criticism.
His work can be found in many public and private collections in Greece and abroad.