Dakis Joannou

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Dakis Joannou is a Greek Cypriot industrialist based in Greece. He is considered to be one of the leading collectors of European contemporary art (the earliest work in his collection is from 1985). Joannou started collecting when he saw Jeff Koons' "equilibrium" and felt really excited in collecting items like this. His will is to live with the works, not just to exhibit or to show them to the public. The Dakis Joanou collection includes works by a variety of international and mainstream artists, including: Jeff Koons, Vanessa Beecroft, Michael Bevilacqua, Ashley Bickerton, Cai Guo-Qiang, Maurizio Cattelan, Verne Dawson, Matt Greene, Mike Kelley, Joseph Kosuth, Liza Lou, Takashi Murakami, Ningura Napurrula, Shirin Neshat, Cady Noland, Chris Ofili, Gabriel Orozco, Yinka Shonibare, Shahzia Sikander, Kara Walker, Nari Ward, and Christopher Wool.

Joannou's collection has been featured in many leading museums, perhaps most notably the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France and in the world-famous auction house Christie's.

Joannou is the founder of Deste Foundation, centre for contemporary arts, located in Athens, greece in the subrub of Nea Ionia. DESTE is a nonprofit foundation that organises exhibitions and supports publications that explore the relationship between contemporary art and contemporary culture. It aims to bring contemporary art to a wider audience, to enhance opportunities for young artists, and to establish a dialogue between generations through an exhibition program that promotes emerging as well as established artists.