Yannis Tsarouchis establishes himself as a painter with his exhibition at the British Council

Yannis Tsarouchis' (1910-1989) first exhibition took place in a shop on Nikis Street in 1938, and it received negative reviews because it showed "indecent nudes" and "filth." At the time, he was establishing his personal style by exploring the portrayal of male nudity and lower-class men. In 1952, he exhibited his work at the British Council, which was the starting point for his acceptance. Poet Odysseas Elytis said about him: "A radical cannot be a classicist at the same time. But Tsarouchis can do it. When this painter dared to search for the god Hermes not on Mount Olympus but in the "café Olympus" mythology came out of the books and inhabited the earth, and the artist's eyes viewed the word through a different lens. […] Tsarouchis tried to eliminate the frivolous ornamentation from the icon of Hellenism, and for that, he is an avant-garde who did not destroy tradition but redefined it."

Besides his painting, Tsarouchis shined in set and costume designing for iconic films such as M. Kakogiannis' "Stella," operas (Cherubini's “Medea” with M. Callas, director A. Minotis, Dallas, 1958) and theater performances which were highly accepted (Perses, 1965) or caused a scandal (The Birds, 1959.)