The painter, printmaker, writer, and industrial designer Thanasis Exarchopoulos was born in Pyrgos, Elis in 1927 and passed away in Athens in 2021. He was the husband of the painter and printmaker Mariora Moysidou-Exarchopoulou.
His first contact with the art world was the notebooks of his goldsmith father, featuring the monograms he used for jewelry, as well as the way he cast gold. During the years of the Axis Occupation, he was one of the most active members of the Art Association “Pyrgiotikos Parnassos”. He studied printmaking and painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under the instruction of Yiannis Kefallinos and Umberto Argyros (1947–1951).
Alongside printmaking and painting, he engaged in applied design, namely interior design and decoration, furniture design, and the development of construction plans and models. Later, he turned to the industrial sector, where he worked as an industrial designer. For years, he was also involved in the art of the book (book design, binding, and artistic editing), as well as graphic arts in general. From 1966 onwards, together with his wife, he created series of books and audio recordings for children under the titles Ichoeikones (Sound-Images) and Eikonografia (Iconography/Illustration). The largest part of his literary work remains unpublished to this day, with the exception of three books: Meres kai nychtes (Days and Nights, Athens 1974), Poiimata 1951–1971, seira A’ (Poems 1951–1971, Series A, Athens 2005), and Poiimata 1972–1974, seira B’ (Poems 1972–1974, Series B, Athens 2011).
He taught as a professor of printmaking at the Athens School of Fine Arts, organizing and directing the School’s B’ Printmaking Studio, introducing innovations both in organization and teaching (1982–1994).
He held solo exhibitions in Athens (Architecture Hall 1965, Medusa Art Gallery 1981, 1982, 1994, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation 2012-retrospective) and participated in group exhibitions both in Greece (e.g., Panhellenic Exhibitions 1957, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1967, Athens, Thessaloniki, Chania, Nafplio, Hydra, Larissa) and abroad (Geneva, Paris, Constantinople).
His works can be found in the National Gallery, the Museum of Modern Greek Art of the Municipality of Rhodes, and elsewhere.