Vaso Katraki was born in Aitoliko, Missolonghi in 1914 and passed away in Athens in 1988.
She studied painting under K. Parthenis and printmaking under G. Kefallinos at the Athens School of Fine Arts.
Her early works were small-scale woodcuts used for book illustrations. From 1955 onwards, she applied a new technique involving engraving on sandstone, creating works that lacked intermediate tones and fine details. Deeply politicized, she would craft works dominated by the human figure. Her interest lay not so much in depicting daily life, but in an emblematic language that utilized elements of Greek tradition, formally referencing Cycladic figurines.
She was a founding member of the “Stathmi” artists’ group and the Union of Greek Printmakers.
Her work was presented in numerous solo exhibitions [Zachariou gallery, Athens 1955; National Gallery-Alexandros Soutzos Museum (retrospective), Athens 1980; Municipal Gallery of Athens 1991, among others] and group exhibitions (Parnassos, Athens 1936; Mediterranean Biennale of Alexandria 1957 – 1st prize; International Print Biennale of Lugano – prize; São Paulo Biennale 1957; Venice Biennale 1966 – Tamarind international prize for lithography; Post-war Greek Printmaking, National Gallery-Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens 1988, among others).