visibilities / echoes /
With works by Vera Gavrielides-Hadjida, Katy Stephanides, Eleni Charikleides, Pavlina Pavlides
Curated by Demetra Ignatiou
Curatorial support: AnnaMaria Charalambous, Kyriakos Theocharous
Visual communication: Natalie Yiaxi
15 March – 20 April 2019
The exhibition visibilities / echoes / opens at Garage on March 15th 2019, with works by four Cypriot artists of the interwar generation. This exhibition concludes a thematic project dedicated to artists who are classified as Second Generation Cypriot artists in the historiography of contemporary Cypriot art. Preceded by the exhibitions α π ο χ ρ ω μ α τ ι σ μ ο ί (2017) και επιτελέσεις (2018), which fall under the same thematic, it is organised upon the initiative of the Lefteris Economou Cultural Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to promote and recontextualise the work and artistic achievements of the artists of that period through the connection of their art and creative paths with contemporary artistic production. It also aims to encourage the involvement and familiarisation of current artists and culture professionals with the work, the overall contribution and the role of the artists of that generation in the formation and development of the contemporary condition of art in Cyprus.
The exhibition visibilities / echoes / collects and presents works by Vera Gavrielides-Hadjida, Katy Stephanides, Eleni Charikleides, Pavlina Pavlides. The four artists appeared on the artistic scene during the period of Independence (1960) and were active participants in the explorations and fermentations of the visual arts scene of their time. Being among the first female graduates of Schools of Fine Arts, they held the tools, the knowledge and the penetrating artistic gaze that allowed them to carve out their own path in the field. Their work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions whilst some of them have represented Cyprus at important art showcases abroad. Bearing in mind the consistency, breadth and vitality of their work, one comprehends its importance and contribution in the development of the artistic actuality in Cyprus and realises the visibility owed to their work.
The choice of artworks for the exhibition visibilities / echoes / corresponds to the time period of 1960 – 1980 and indicatively reflects the visual style of each artist through the exposition of their aesthetic, expressive and thematic concerns. Seeking the multileveled utilization of the mass of information accumulated through the curatorial research, two contemporary creators were invited to produce alternative responses to this material within the framework of the exhibition. Natalie Yiaxi creates an artist’s book, in which she introduces a hypothetical condition of a meeting and a talk with the four artists and their work, commenting on their absence or inequitable presence throughout the narratives of the historiography of Cypriot art. Athina Kasiou studies and approaches the material in which she is granted access to and in collaboration with an actress creates a theatrical response structured upon the need to approach and come closer to the stories of these women.
The exhibition visibilities / echoes / aims to create the conditions for a reappraisal and contemporisation of the importance of the presence of these four women artists in the artistic scene by urging us to turn our gaze in manifold ways towards their work and practices.
Artists’ bios:
Eleni Charikleidou (1926-1978) was born and raised in Limassol. She studied painting in Athens School of Fine Arts (1949 -1955) with Umberto Argyros, Yiannis Moralis and Giannis Kefallinos as her teachers. From 1957 onwards she taught art in public schools, mainly at the Pallouriotissa Pancyprian Gymnasium for Girls. In 1970, she received a scholarship from the British Council and partook an educational course around the theme of art education in Bretton Hall, Wakefield, United Kingdom. She participated in group shows in Cyprus and abroad, but never showed her work in a solo exhibition. In 1980, her work was presented in a retrospective exhibition at Zygos gallery, upon the initiative of Telemachos Kanthos. A large body of her work has been installed in a permanent exhibition, curated by Kanthos, which one can visit today at the Telemachos Kanthos Foundation.
Vera Gavrielides-Hadjida (1936-2012) was born and raised in Nicosia. She studied painting and interior design at Kingston School of Art in Surrey, London (1957-1960). Upon her return to Cyprus in 1960, she worked in secondary education and was simultaneously active in the art scene of the country, participating in group shows both in Cyprus and abroad. She presented her first solo exhibition in 1962 at the Trust’s Youth Club in Nicosia, followed by seven more solo shows. Her work has been featured in many group showcases including the Biennale for Young Artists from the Mediterranean, Paris (1967), Sao Paolo Biennale (1969), Exhibition of Contemporary Cypriot Painting – Demetria ’79, Thessaloniki (1979), Group show of Female Painters, Nicosia (1985), Art Athina 2, Athens (1994) and all the pancyprian exhibitions of E.KA.TE (The Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts). She designed the sets for several theatrical productions.
Pavlina Pavlides (1924-1990) was born and raised in Limassol. She studied sculpture in Camberwell School of Art, London and continued her studies in Rome, where she worked for a while. She lived in Paris during the period 1961-1977. In 1967 she presented her first and only solo exhibition in Cyprus, at Hilton in Nicosia. In 1979 she moved to Monte Carlo in Monaco, where she lived until her death. During her lifetime she was awarded three awards for sculpture [1983: Salon International “Arts-Inter”| AVIGNON 1983 |Grand Prize for Sculpture (Plaquette d’Or “Arts Inter”), 1983: Golden Award for Sculpture, Cambery, 1983: Awarded at Salon at Aix En Provence “Hors concours”]. She exhibited her work in solo and group shows in gallery La Medusa, Rome (1960), Nees Morfes Gallery, Athens (1960), Gallery 5.4, Art et communication, Paris (1987), Alwin Gallery, London (1970), International Galleries, Chicago (1964) and Comité national monégasque des arts plastiques, Andorra (1985).
Katy Stephanides (1925-2012) was born and raised in Limassol. She studied painting in Athens School of Fine Arts (1949 -1955) with Umberto Argyros and Yiannis Moralis as her teachers and later on she took painting and graphic design courses at St. Martin’s School of Art, London. In 1960, after a few years of living in London and Paris, she returned to Cyprus and was employed in secondary education. She taught in various educational institutions until her retirement in 1985. She was remarkably productive and participated in many group shows and art initiatives in Cyprus and abroad, including Cypriot Artists, Vayianos Gallery, Athens (1961), Alexandria Biennale (1963), Contemporary Cypriot Art Exhibition, London, Edingborough, Commonweath Institute (1970), Contemporary Cypriot Art Exhibition, Hamburg (1974), Exhibition of Contemporary Cypriot Painting – Demetria ’79, Thessaloniki (1979) and from 1960 onwards in all the pancyprian exhibitions of E.KA.TE (The Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts). She presented nine solo shows, the first one in 1972 being hosted at Gallery Acropolis, School for the Blind, Nicosia.
