Yannis Bouteas, The Yellow Imprint

With colour in the leading role

In The Yellow Imprint by Yannis Bouteas, a vivid yellow colour takes over the entire painting surface. It’s an artistic approach influenced by minimalism and centred around:

• Abstraction
• Clarity
• Monochromy

Despite its plain design, the work manages to be imposing.
The composition reflects the artist's artistic explorations. Through it, he seeks to convey his concerns and philosophy regarding art.

A timeless piece about art itself

The choice of colour is not random in Yannis Bouteas’ work. Yellow is a colour that exudes vigour and adds vividness and brightness to the composition. By deliberately omitting any kind of representation elements, the artist challenges the audience to think beyond the painting surface and connect with the sensation evoked by colour alone.

Through the work’s seeming simplicity, Bouteas intends to remind us that art doesn’t need to be complex to arouse emotions and inspire contemplation. This way, The Yellow Imprint emerges as a timeless and bold piece.

His life in a nutshell

Yannis Bouteas (1941-) was born in Kalamata. Between 1959 and 1964 he studied printmaking at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Kostas Grammatopoulos. In 1966 he received a state scholarship to continue his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, graduating in 1970. In 1972 he decided to settle permanently in the French capital, where he lived and worked for a decade.

Artistic influences

Yannis Bouteas’ artistic style was influenced by:

• Minimalism
• Printmaking

A unique technique

Yannis Bouteas creates mostly installations that he places on the floor or on walls.

His compositions are marked by geometry, with structures based on parallel or intersecting straight lines, a feature that reveals his background in printmaking. The artist often combines:

• Everyday materials, such as ropes, rocks, metal sheets, plasticine, asphalt fragments, mirrors, etc.
• White and coloured neon tubes
• Painting
• Photography

His intention is to add a poetic aspect to ordinary materials, transform them and integrate them into the exhibition space.

Bouteas is considered one of the key representatives of luminal art (art featuring neon tubes) in Greece. In 2007 his work Energy Images – Layerings XVI was placed at the Kerameikos metro station in Athens.

A recognised artist

Throughout his career, Yannis Bouteas has presented his works in 11 solo exhibitions in Greece and France. At the same time, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Greece and abroad, such as:

• International Exhibition of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, 1963
• Paris Youth Biennale, 1966 and 1967
• Various Parisian salons during the 1970s
• Avanguardia e Sperimentazione in Modena and Venice, 1978

Additionally, Yannis Bouteas represented Greece at the São Paulo Biennale in 1981 and the Venice Biennale in 1990 (along with George Lappas).

Participation in exhibitions

The piece The Yellow Imprint was featured in the exhibitions:

• “The Alpha Bank Collection. Greek Art from 1960 until Today”, hosted at the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts (MOMus) in Thessaloniki from 10.12.2018 to 10.03.2019.
• “Yiannis Bouteas. States in Flux 1970-2004”, hosted at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in 2004.
• 42e Salon d'Art Contemporain de Montrouge: “Montrouge-Athènes”, held in Paris in 1997.

The work of art in our publications

The piece The Yellow Imprint by Yannis Bouteas is referenced in the Alpha Bank publication The Alpha Bank Collection. Greek Art from 1960 until Today, edited by Maria Tsantsanoglou, Irene Orati and Yiannis Bolis. The publication accompanied the same-titled exhibition that opened in Thessaloniki in 2018.

In other literature

The painting is also referenced in the books:

• D. Zacharopoulos, Beltsios Collection. The Pioneers. A View of Greek Art in the 2nd half of the 20th century, 2003 (in Greek)

And in the retrospective exhibition catalogue:

• Yiannis Bouteas. States in Flux 1970-2004, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, 2004

The Alpha Bank Art Collection is not open to the public.

You can visit it by appointment. Contact us to book your visit.