Pavlos Dionyssopoulos known only as "Pavlos" was born in 1930 in Philiatra, Greece,. His father was a craftsman - a cobbler who first stirred Pavlos interest in various colors and textures.
In 1947, Pavlos moved to Athens where he finished his secondary education. He loved to read art books and discovered Klee, Pollock and Masson. Pavlos decided to study architecture, but in 1949 he took the entrance exams and was accepted to the School of Fine Arts. He graduated in 1953.
By the time Pavlos goes to Paris in 1954, thanks to a scholarship from the French State, he has already found that he likes to make strange objects. He finds that he is neither a painter nor a sculptor, but rather an artist.
Pavlos takes advantage of his year in Paris to travel to Italy, Spain, Holland and Germany for the first time. Upon his return to Athens in 1955, Pavlos is seen as a success. He worked as a set designer for the theater and he worked in advertising. However, Paris still called to him.
In 1958 Pavlos received a Greek state scholarship to study and work in Paris. Pavlos decided that Paris is where he would stay.
His artistic progress was largely influenced by the innovative atmosphere of the '60s, and especially by the "New Realists" and Pierre Restany, characterized mainly by his switch from conventional canvas painting to the use of cheap everyday materials of modern civilization.
Pavlos lived and worked alongside many famous artists, such as Giacometti, Calder, Cesar, Dubuffet. Dubuffet's words, "Art is above all invention, everything else is apeing," still ring in Pavlos ears today.
In 1960 Pavlos discovered posters - but not to paint. He cut up the paper into strips and created unique works of art for which he is still known today. His pieces have been exhibited all over the world and are in the permanent collections of many major museums. Art critics and art lovers are all in agreement that these objects "have a life which transcends them. They have an almost metaphysical dimension."
His first solo exhibition was held in Paris (Galerie J, 1964) and has since worked with major European galleries (Sonnabend, Iolas, etc.). After his first solo exhibition in Athens (Goethe Institute, 1971), he holds exhibitions in Greece regularly. He participated in significant events that highlighted the Greek avant-garde art scene abroad, such as the Avantgarde Griechenland (Berlin, 1968) and Eight Artists, Eight Attitudes, Eight Greeks (ICA, London, 1975). He represented Greece in the 1980 Venice Biennale and also participated in the Europalia festival (Belgium, 1982). In 1997, his retrospective exhibition was organized in Thessaloniki (Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art), and was also presented in Athens (ASFA Factory). His project Football Players is located at the 'Omonia' station of the Athens Metro. He was chosen to design the commemorative Postal Stamps of the Summer Olympic Games of 2004 in Athens Grece.
After many Years of exhibitions around the world and with works in major museums and private collections, Pavlos passed away in 2019.