1945-1955: Cubist – Surrealist Influences And Sculptures 

1947

His exhibition at Parnassos provokes a scandal by presenting works with apparent influences from Cubism and Surrealism. He creates his first three-dimensional work: white sculpture made of plaster and wire.

1948

He participates in the first post-war Panhellenic Art Exhibition at the Zappeion Hall.

1949

His encounter with Alecos Condopoulos leads to the creation of the group “Akraioi” (Extremes), which also brings together the artists Yannis Maltezos, Dimitris Chytiris, and Lazaros Lameras. In November, the newspaper O Aionas mas (Our Century) publishes the group’s manifesto stating the rejection of realism and representational tendencies.

1950

For the first time, he creates theatre stage design for Moliere’s play The Forced Marriage at the French Institute of Athens.

1953

He participates in the 2nd São Paulo Biennial in Brazil.

1954

He presents works of the last seven years at the Hotel Kentrikon in Athens; the exhibition becomes the epicentre of a dispute between the followers of “Greekness” in art and the supporters of “modern art”.

On 30 September, he marries Gabriella Simossi, the sculptor, that he met earlier at the School of Fine Arts. In October, they both arrive in Paris. Yannis Gaïtis with financial aid from the Holy Foundation of Evangelistria of Tinos, Gabriella Simossi with a state scholarship.

Gaïtis studies contemporary art movements in Paris, he visits museums and galleries. He writes to his family:

“In Greece I was twenty years ahead, here I am twenty years behind”.

He turns to abstract art, influenced by artists such as Jean Fautrier, Georges Mathieu, Hans Hartung, Pierre Soulages and Alfred Manessier. He paints incessantly, seeking to digest and transcend the new influences he discovers in Paris. Later, he would confess:

“At night I would recreate the Soulages and Hartung paintings I had seen in the galleries, then tear them apart, perhaps out of defiance, but also to understand them better”.