The architect and painter Takis Marthas was born in Lavrio in 1905 and passed away in Athens in 1965.
He studied Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) from 1924 to 1929, where as a student, he taught drawing for three years at the Vocational School of Athens upon the recommendation of Dimitris Pikionis. He became an Assistant (Epimelitis) at the Chair of Descriptive-Projective Geometry and Perspective Sciography of the National Technical University of Athens (1930–1960), and a professor of Architectural Design at the School of Architecture (1945). He was elected Professor of Freehand Drawing at the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens (1960–1965). He also taught at the Military Service Officers Schools and the Hellenic Military Academy (Evelpidon), and worked as an architect at the Ministry of Health (1937–1939).
As a painter, he was self-taught. He began by painting oil works and watercolors influenced by Fauvism and Expressionism, which he presented in 1955 at the “ADEL” hall in Athens. With his second solo exhibition at the “Zygos” gallery (1958), he established himself as a pioneer of abstract art in Greece. The following year, he achieved international recognition, receiving the Diplôme d’Honneur at the Salon de l’Art Libre in Paris.
In his works, he experimented with collage techniques (mixed media) and various materials, adding a relief texture to the painting surface. He presented his work in solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad (São Paulo Biennale 1961), distinguished himself in panhellenic competitions, and was honored with the Diplôme d’Honneur at the Salon de l’Art Libre (1959, Paris). Following his death, his work was presented in retrospective exhibitions at the Municipal Art Gallery of Thessaloniki (1990) and the Athens Municipality Art Gallery (1991).