DIMITRIS C. MILIONIS

Dimitris C. Milionis (1960)

Greek-Australian painter was born on 8th September 1960, in Sydney, Australia. Dimitris begun his first drawings with his father around the age of preschool about 5 years old, in his elementary school years  he was fascinated with cartoons and comics in grade 5 completed as temporary Christmas mural on the class room back wall using an overhead projector. Later during his high school years from 1973 both in Sydney and later in Athens in 1974, he followed extra curriculum studies in Drawing, Technical and Mechanical Drawing, Architecture draftsmanship, Clay sculpturing, Lino and wood printing, wood carving and metal sheet craftmanship with a keen discipline in Photography and early Video until 1978. In his last year of high school, Dimitris would work every Saturday at the family loom factory, to earn some money and cover his weekly allowance, where he would draw or paint the cotton 210cm fabrics that were discarded, experimenting with designs by using thick brushers in black enamel paint.

A year later, Dimitris worked with a Greek movie and TV production agency as a summer job and was exposed to the magic of 35mm film creation, doing several odd jobs like pre and post productions and some stand in acting. During those teen years he would be exploring the Acropolis and all the Athenian museums. Milionis would dabble in small drawings and explored black & white motif paintings from geometric ideas to abstract exploration, in 1985 he played a small speaking part in a Cacoyiannis film shot in Athens an experience that fulfilled him but found no interest to follow acting. Dimitris served in the Greek military during 1987/88 spending the second year of duty based in Cyprus as part of the 35th wing special forces. There Dimitris would do large army mural art work on buildings for his military base and using thick black markers would draw the green shirts of fellow solders with tattoo styled motifs. A special event came up and decorated the Hilton in Cyprus for a military Christmas ball event in 1987 on behalf of the Cypriot president. This period in Cyprus opened him up to pursue, Minimalism and Conceptional concepts. In the early 90’s Milionis studied Eastern Christian Orthodox Iconography as a discipline, Etching and Sculpture in Athens.

The 90’s was a decade he pursued over 50 contracts with local businesses corporations in offering his artworks from his Giant series with applications in screen-prints and art objects as VIP art gifts in limited signed productions until 2002 reaching 28.000 people.

At the change of the century in 2002 Milionis makes a turnaround to follow earlier thoughts and roots by bridging the gap between orthodox neo-Iconography and frequently revisiting the symbolic and metaphysical themes of his earlier philosophical interests. Creating a fresh look that captivated several collectors with his “Aegean” series of small paintings following a lineage from Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), Symbolism and Giorgio de Chirico’s (1888-1978), Scuola Metafisica art movement 100 years earlier.

Dimitris Milionis from his first contact with Greek art was fascinated by the enigmatic storytelling of Nikos Engonopoulos (1907-1985), Greek scenographic landscapes and still lives of Sarandis Karavousis (1938-2011) and Nikos Stefanou (1933), while touching the dream state edges with Dimitris Yeros (1948), narrative of Pavlos Samios (1948).

Dimitris C. Milionis lives by his craft and trade of painting in Athens

Solo Exhibitions in Athens

1992 Dada Gallery  “Human Profiles”

1997 Image Gallery  “Apocryptic Fruit”

1998 Monohoro Gallery “Uninitiated Idiopids’”

1999 Olga Georgantea Gallery “Argonaughts”

2004 Monohoro Gallery  “Light of the Aegean”

2004 Periplanisi Gallery  “Memories”

2005 Monohoro Gallery  “Light of the Aegean II”

2006 Iris Gallery “Dreamy Oracles”

2007 Enigma Gallery “Unknown Epos”

60+ Group Shows & Art shops

Dada Gallery (1992-1993), EST Art Gallery (1993-1995), Image Gallery (1997-1999), Monohoro Gallery (1997-2011), Olga Georgantea Gallery (1999-2001), Periplanisi Gallery (1998-2009), Skoufa Gallery (2004-2011), Atrion Art Gallery (2005-2006), Iris-Marisa Fassianou Gallery (2006-2009), Artion Kifissia Art Shop (2008-2012) (2006-2008), Kapsiotis Gallery (2005-2011), Gallery tou Notou | Kapsiotis (2006-2012), Ixnilaton-Vari Gallery (2008-2011), Enigma Gallery (2005-2013), (Scala Gallery Mykonos 2008-2013), Art Space Santorini (2010-2014), Aenaon Art Gallery (2010-2018), S.G. Gallery (2012-2018), Mamush Art Shop (2016-2017), Pandora Art Gallery (2010-2020)

2009-2019: SURPRISE 1-10 by artAZ, Athens

2015 Greek Artists in the U.S.: “Colors of Greece” in the Hamptons NY

Stavros Mihalarias Gallery and Art Shop (2005-2020)

2006  The Hellenic Postal (ΕΛΤΑ) published a painting in cooperation with “2006 Patras Cultural Capital of Europe”

Paintings of the Artist are found at the Philosophical School of the University of Athens, the American Collage of Greece, American Express Bank, Alpha Bank (previous Ionian Bank) the painting is on the main wall of the branch at Spyrou Merkouri str. Pangrati in Athens Since 1997 a tryptic 130x300cm and in Private collections in Greece, Cyprus and Internationally.