Fokion Zissiadis, born in 1956 in Thessaloniki, Greece, has built a rich and diverse career blending architecture, hospitality, and the fine art of photography. Educated at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and later at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his Master’s degree in Architecture, Fokion initially dedicated himself to his family's business. He took on a leadership role in the family-owned Sani S.A., a company pivotal in transforming the Sani area in Halkidiki into a world-renowned luxury resort. As Vice President, he helped grow Sani Resort into a symbol of high-end tourism in Northern Greece, combining natural beauty with hospitality.

In 2015, after concluding his business commitments, Fokion redirected his energy and creativity toward his true passion — photography. With an eye for geometry and a deep respect for the beauty of nature, he embarked on photographic journeys to some of the world’s most remote landscapes, including Iceland, Greenland, Vietnam and Morocco, most countries of Africa and Central Asia, including China. His work captures the  genius “loci”, the grandeur and untouched essence of these regions, often portraying the insignificance of human presence in contrast to the scale and power of natural landscapes.

His photographic work covers a wide range of geological phenomena and diverse terrains: deserts, glaciers, savannahs, jungles, volcanoes, rivers, seas, mountain ranges and highlands.

Fokion’s photographic style is distinct, characterized by a fascination with structure, form, and the interaction of light with land and ice.

His acclaimed series, such as “Icebergs from Genesis to Extinction,” which was showcased in a solo exhibition at the Benaki Museum in Athens in 2019, underscores his commitment to environmental themes and the fragile beauty of our planet's ecosystems.

Through published monographs like Iceland (teNeues, 2016), Vietnam: The Paths Less Travelled (Rizzoli, 2020), Greenland (teNeues,2022) and Morocco (to be published by teNeues, 2025), Fokion invites readers to experience the subtle magnificence of these distant lands.

His attention is now focused on Central Asia, where he hopes to create his next project, tentatively titled Silk Road. The project Silk Road is already under process and covers the entire route through the “stan” countries and China. It was initiated in 2023 and when completed, it will present a visual narrative of amazingly versatile landscapes and historical sites, as well as remains of monuments of significant architectural and cultural interest that are linked to the major routes of the Silk Road. Fokion’s goal is to create a fine art photo book that will render what the eyes of a daring traveller would encounter today if he or she travelled the complete Silk Road route from China to the Caspian Sea.

His journeys are often shared with his wife, Mata Tsolozidis - Zissiadis, an active supporter and partner in his artistic ventures. Mata is the owner and administrator of the George Tsolozidis Collection, an antiquities collection spanning 7.000 years of history (https://tsolozidis-collection.org).

Together, Fokion and Mata bridge the realms of art, culture, and environmental awareness, creating a legacy of appreciation for the natural world’s awe-inspiring landscapes.