1970, Cultural Center of the Municipality of Vyronas.
1972, Panhellenic Exhibition, Parnassos Literary Society, Athens.
1973, Anoixi Gallery, Athens.
1973, Cultural Center of the Municipality of Athens.
1980, Megaron, Employees’ Association of the Bank of Greece, Athens.
1982, Greek Artists, Bourtzi, Nafplio.
1983, Nafplio Municipal Gallery, Nafplio.
1988, International Painting Salon, Paris.
1990, Megaron, Employees’ Association of the Bank of Greece, Athens.
1992, Cultural Center of the Municipality of Athens.
1998, Timeless Greek Art, Archipelagos Gallery, Kolonaki.
1999, Grammatopoulos, Kopsidis, Karavas, Mitrakas, Archipelagos Gallery, Kolonaki.
2001, Giannis Karavas & Giannis Mitrakas, Archipelagos Gallery, Kolonaki.
2005, Anna Papadaki Gallery, Athens.
2008, Botsaris Tower, Nafpaktos.
2025, Parnassos Literary Society.
2025, Papadaki Art Space, Athens.
1983, “Palamidis” Gallery, Nafplio.
1986, “Xenia” Art Gallery, Nafplio.
1987, Sina 16, Athens.
1988, Cultural Center of the Municipality of Nafplio.
1989, Sina 16, Athens.
1992, Forni Gallery, Brussels.
1992, European Parliament, Strasbourg.
1995, Sina 16, Athens.
1996, Archipelagos Gallery, Kolonaki, Athens.
1996, Foyer Culturel d’Etterbeek, Brussels.
1998, Archipelagos Gallery, Kolonaki, Athens.
1999, “Rodiaki Epavli”, Rhodes.
2000, Archipelagos Gallery, Kolonaki, Athens.
2001, “Pyrna Encounters”, Athens.
2002, “M. Mercouri” Art Gallery, Hydra.
2002, Cultural Center of the Municipality of Poros.
2004, Glyfada Nautical Club.
2004, Cultural Center of Pyrgos, Tinos.
2004, Centre CONTAC, Brussels.
2010, Town Hall of Tinos.
2012, Hellenic American College, Psychiko, Athens.
2014, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries,
European Commission, Brussels.
2015, Cultural Center of Patmos.
2018, SYTE, Bank of Greece, Athens.
Yannis Karavas because of his origin, as well as his love and devotion for boats, has dedicated many years to the traditional Greek shipyards, the sea and the research of literature related of Naval History. He conveys his deep boatbuilding expertise in painting and manages to illustrate with unparalleled fidelity boats sailing. His boats are replicas of actual models and on the bow he inscribes the name of the boat. These works are painted with unprecedented detail that has made his name famous for this genre. Their representation is accurate from the forestay to the backstay.
Regardless of the subject and technique chosen - oil on canvas, egg tempera on wood, watercolour - Karavas manages to orchestrate his stimuli through his perception of colour and light every time, and vice versa. Light is the link among his works, irrespective of the time of creation represented. “Light” is, in particular, the element which always reveals and manifests the artist’s great sensibility.
A sensibility, thanks to which he apprehends, experiences and regenerates the idiomatic atmosphere of Greece, through constant variations of light, evocative reflections in waters and foliages, in short, the inherent aura of every place, the quintessence of every stimulus. Be it a neoclassical house, a traditional chapel, a characteristic neighbourhood, a handcrafter’s workshop, the view of the harbour, the hull of a sailing ship or imaginary compositions involving mermaids, witches, hot air balloons, fairytale-like villages, imaginary animals, exotic and ghostly figures, the artist’s sensible glance, reinforced by a sense of wit, is always present, a feature which adds to the vivacity of his work, while contributing to its apprehension by the viewer in a more substantial way.
Looking at Karavas’ sailing ships, one would feel unrestrained optimism, since they contain - and at the same time are surrounded by - both the breeze of the sea and the aura of Greece itself, in its timeless essence, which identifies with its natural and metaphysical identity.
The blue sky is reflected in the blue sea of Fiskardo, remodelling the traditional buildings and anchored ships through the light. The same is also to be seen in Hydra, where the architectural and structural particularities of the captains’ houses with their different coloured stone walls emerge characteristically. Even there, where human figures are absent, Karavas manages to evoke the human presence thanks to the vivacity with which he renders a square (Pyrghi, Chios), a café, a mere bicycle parked outside a shop. Looking at the works that the artist created inspired by different parts of Greece, one feels the need to go even deeper, to taste directly the charm of every place, that particular atmosphere which makes it unique. Karavas has felt and rendered this very uniqueness to its full extent through his art and true love for everything he creates.
This is also the case in those compositions, where the artist seems to be narrating a fairytale, managing to impress the viewer dynamically, who could by no means remain indifferent to this work. On the contrary, he is encouraged to go through it again and again, always discovering a new stimulus.
The artist’s sensibility is to be noticed in his use of light and, specifically, in his watercolour paintings. The artist’s atmospheric watercolours are a manifestation of his talent also in this technique, as he seems to have mastered completely the inherent difficulties. He has managed in a persuasive way and with confidence in his art and abilities, to create watercolour paintings, which are marked by an “ineffable” poetry, whatever the subject is.
The artist’s rich imagination, true passion for his craft and appetite for life, awareness of light and both undeniable and great love for his home country are those decisive features for which he has been already recognised for and still is through his constantly developing artistic path; a path which, as it is widely recognisable, and what is more, by an audience of viewers of all ages, corresponds to the actual and primary role of genuine art, which is that of communication.