Bio
Artist
and creative, Yannis Generalis, is the product of many countries. Born in
Africa to Greek immigrant parents, he grew up between Zimbabwe, Botswana, Greece,
and South Africa. He arrived in Johannesburg in 1983 and it has been his home
ever since. Witness to profound socio-political events in these four countries
during his formative years, and having absorbed the rich cultural diversity on
offer, has brought a multi-layered perspective to his work.
His
parents were economic migrants, who left severe economic hardships behind,
seeking a better life abroad. Generalis was born in 1967 in the small town of
Bulawayo, in present day Zimbabwe. Later his parents moved to Francistown in
Botswana.
In
1986 Generalis was accepted to study at the University of the Witwatersrand
(Wits). His Bachelor of Arts degree, with majors in the fields of Modern Greek
literature, psychology, and international relations, has influenced his
outlook, artmaking voice and creative storytelling. During his time at Wits
University, Generalis was actively involved in student politics. After
graduation, in 1990, Generalis joined the Johannesburg Art Foundation, a
ground-breaking art school at the time, established by the late Bill Ainslie.
From
2010 until 2015, Generalis served on the board of directors of project
Rendezvous, a multicultural arts exchange initiative, between South African art
institutions and France, under the auspices of the French Embassy.
Beyond
his commercial design career, Generalis’ art career has seen his work exhibited
extensively both locally and internationally and is represented in both private
and public collections. Other than 7 solo exhibitions at commercial galleries
(2013-2020), Generalis has participated in a multitude of group exhibitions, in
South Africa, Greece and the United States.
In
the past decade, Generalis has also curated many successful group art shows and
collaborated with several galleries and academic institutions throughout South
Africa. He has also curated exhibitions for Northwest University, University of
Johannesburg, as well as the inaugural annual art exhibition for the Aardklop
Arts festival.
In
2017 Generalis returned to academia, completing his MTech Fine Arts at the
University of Johannesburg, which he received cum laude in 2019. In 2020, he
received the Chancellor’s Gold Medal, an annual award of excellence, for
outstanding research for his dissertation and critically acclaimed solo
exhibition entitled Hybrid Vigour: Ecce
Homo.
His
work is often layered creating visual, as well as contextual, palimpsests
realised in various media. He often draws from his Hellenic roots, which he
combines with his life in Africa, to weave a unique narrative of his own
diasporic experience. The creative dialogue which is generated in this process
challenges universally accepted archetypes of gender and identity within
transient socio-political landscapes. In this context, the multiple layers of
signification that drive the work, become evidence of what the artist describes
as hybrid vigour.
Generalis’
oeuvre is diverse, strategically combining both traditional and experimental
approaches to artmaking. The works range from traditional oil painting, to rust
drawings, sculpture, embroidery, and installation.
