The prose writer, poet, and self-taught painter Nikos Gavriil Pentzikis was born in 1908 in Thessaloniki, where he also passed away in 1993.
He was a scion of an old, wealthy family from Thessaloniki, and the brother of the poet Zoe Karelli.
He studied optics, physics, and physiology in Paris (1927), and botany and pharmacy in Strasbourg (1928–1929).
Following his father’s death, he took over the family pharmacy (1930–1953), which evolved into an intellectual and cultural hub for the city. Later on, he worked as an associate for a pharmaceutical company (1953–1969).
In 1933, he met Stratis Doukas, and together they visited Mount Athos (this was followed by 93 more visits by Pentzikis). In his painting, he was influenced by his acquaintance with Spyros Papaloukas and Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika. Orthodox Christian doctrine exerted a powerful influence on both his literary and artistic work, serving as the foundational framework for his activities. He was a passionate nature lover with a particular obsession with plants, extensive knowledge of botany, and a seashell collection. During his initial period of artistic engagement (1959–1967), utilizing the visual language of pointillism and short, choppy brushstrokes in overlapping layers, he created artworks devoid of perspective or chiaroscuro. Initially using oil paints and later temperas, he depicted the Macedonian countryside (drawing inspiration from his professional travel tours) as well as the urban landscape of Thessaloniki.
From 1967 onwards, he introduced a self-devised system of numeric ciphering (psypharithmisis), drawing inspiration from the texts of the Synaxaristes of St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite (the text is deconstructed into words, words into letters, letters into numbers, and numbers into specific colors). Through this, he depicted saints, churches, rituals, and landscapes, incorporating ideograms and other shapes as complementary elements.
He wrote poems, novels, art critiques, and essays on painters, and cooperated with the magazines To Trito Mati (The 3rd Eye), Makedonikes Imeres (Macedonian Days), and Kochlias.
He held solo exhibitions in Thessaloniki, Athens, and Kilkis, and participated in group exhibitions in Thessaloniki, Athens, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, and Italy.
In 1988, he was honored with an Honorary Doctorate from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh).