ARTS BY GLYN HUGHES

Lots of cheer and creativity

Haven’t seen many babes in swaddling clothes in the commercial galleries these weeks what with everyone dashing out “new” concepts these days but there is always a lot of cheer and the creativity is still tremendous.

Easter can bring the expressionism of course.

Wait.

Images of mistletoe are rare in contemporary art but eros, as always, is fairly rampant. Although most (practically all) exhibitions are off for the holidays, nudes are never in retreat.

Nevertheless, humour is always welcome and 2008 ended with the Doros Eracleous’s exhibition at Gloria’s which was full of kindness and joy. It lifted the heart and made full use of whatever the artist found available plus his own brilliant skill at combining different ideas and materials.

Here is a collection of images (often in full form) which could be seen on a visit:

Boats in all shapes and sizes and positions. Some tranquil in the stillness, some rampantly boisterous.

What could be sailor boys kept appearing, or reappearing and you could invent your own plot.

Mermaids abounded.

A foot may suddenly appear below a wall plaque as if the sculpture was suddenly on parade.

Birds flew by - some feathered - some not, but always on an important journey.

Cheerful apples cropped up in surprising places. Here and there a stack of male profiles took over a landscape.

Doors opened.

Doors closed.

Faces peered through.

For some weird reason a crinolined lady kept turning up in amazing places but she didn’t seem to mind.

A cockerel, too. And why not?

Pins, paper clips turned into grass. A fat lady did not sing. But kept her sequins close to the chest. Bicycles jumbled with acrobatic glee.

The latest exhibition I have seen before Christmas was by Elina Ioannnou’s.

Titled CAUGHT IN THE ACT at the Power House. You go past Glafos Koumides’ frighteningly macabre deck chars at his absolutely brilliant large exhibition and into the Project Room where very recently Elina has put up a most rare exhibition. Those shadows are not real. Put your hand where the shadow of an object is and yours does not cast a shade. At all. It’s as if tomorrow never comes.

Happy Christmas