John (Yannis) Pagounis was born in Peristeri, a suburb of Athens, Greece and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. He attended and graduated from Tufts University with Honors. He had planned to become a doctor but in college discovered a talent and passion for art.

 

An accident when he was young left him blind and exotropic in one eye. He rarely discussed this condition openly, however, this may have been the inspiration for many of his works. As an on-call Greek interpreter at several hospitals in the Boston area, he assisted hundreds of trauma victims over the years. He spent many off-duty hours with the patients, many suffering physical and hence psychological traumas from bodily injuries. His empathy and concern for these patients were evident to all who worked around him. These experiences may have also influenced his philosophical approach to his life and to his art.

 

Yanni's Art Exhibit takes us through four decades in the trajectory of Yanni's confrontation with his fear of death; more specifically his fear of the extinction of his "self".  We witness dynamics and inner communications, experience his personal turmoil; the rejecting yet embracing of God, religion and tradition, his internal conflicts and at times even humorous challenges.  In surreal scenes he interrelates parts of the human body, uses voids to fill space and translates colors and shapes to demonstrate blurred lines between matter and energy,  submission and resistance, pain and pleasure, freedom and imprisonment, sanity and insanity, life and death.  His art challenges us to explore our rich interior worlds to find messages and concepts that flow through us as microcosms of infinite dichotomies where all beings and things become only varying aspects and facets of one hideous, beautiful, lonely universe.  

 

Yannis passed away suddenly from this life on September 26, 2016, leaving with us a fascinating body of artwork.  Although he never married nor had children, Yannis was devoted to his family and had formed very strong friendships.  It is our wish that others may appreciate the messages and perspectives he offers in his art.