ARTS, By Glyn Hughes

Triplevision

Two painters, one sculptor in a meeting
Are these too the vital founders of Cypriot contemporary art?
Jennifer Harding, Geoffrey Rigden, Neil Stephens.
Works of paintings and sculptures.
At Apocalypse Gallery, Nicosia until 2nd June.
Photographs, hopefully, next week.
JENNIFER HARDING was born in 1956 in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
She studied at Salisbury College of Art and then at Canterbury College of Art where Stass Paraskos was head of the Painting Department. She completed the post-graduate diploma course in Paphos in 1979.
In 1983, she was awarded a Scholarship by the Greek Ministry of Education and spent a year working independently in the sculpture studios at the School of Fine Art in Athens.
She has worked part-time at the National Theatre, London, at the Museum of London, at the British Institute of Archaeology, Ankara, Turkey. More recently she has held part-time posts in academic libraries including the London School of Economics and the Royal College of Art.
Jennifer Harding  has participated in many studio exhibitions in London, and in group exhibitions such as 1978 Stowells Trophy Exhibition, London, 1979. The British Council, Nicosia, 1983 John Moores 13, Liverpool, 1985 Whitechapel Open, London, 1990 ‘British Travelers in Greece’, Fine Art Society, London (organised by the Embassy of Greece), 2002 John Moores 22, Liverpool
Solo exhibitions have included 1984 The British Council, Athens (supported by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sciences) and 2000 the Hellenic Centre, London, showing ‘Landscapes of Paphos’ accompanying ‘Cyprus the Holy Island’ exhibition of icons.
She is currently engaged in writing a study of the work of Costas Economou.
GEOFF RIGDEN was born in Cheltenham, Gloucester in 1943 and studied at Somerset College of Art and the Royal College of Art, London 1963-66. For many years he was a Visiting Lecturer at universities and colleges throughout the UK, including Reading University, Winchester School of Art, St Martins School of Art and Chelsea School of Art, London.
He has taken part in innumerable group exhibitions such as 1965 John Moores, Liverpool (prizewinner), 1977 Tolly Cobbold (prizewinner) 1979 ‘Summer Show 2’, Serpentine Gallery, London, 1980,82  Hayward Annual, London, 1988 ‘Paintings from the collection of Sir Anthony Caro’, Oxford, 1996 ‘Delight - Six Painters’, University of Manchester, 2001 ‘British Abstract Painting’, Flowers East Gallery, London, 2002 ‘Art Crazy Nation’, Milton Keynes Gallery, 2002 John Moores 22, Liverpool.
 His solo shows have included in 1982 Spacex Gallery, Exeter, 1983 Air Gallery, London, 1988,90,93,95 Francis Graham-Dixon Gallery, London, 2001 Cross Street Gallery, London.
In 1979 and 1982 he was awarded a grant from Greater London Arts, in 1983 from the Elephant Trust, London and in 1996 from the Pollock Krasner Foundation, New York.
BRINELY NEIL STEPHENS:  "Growing up in post industrial South Wales and working in different factories doing normal tasks has been a great influence on my artwork since beginning at college in 1990.
Since graduating on the postgraduate course in Lemba in 1996 my career as a sculptor has involved working for sculptors such as Prof. John Gibbons and Sir Anthony Caro as well as being a tutor for Stass Paraskos at the Cyprus College of Art. The work that is showing at the Apocalypse Gallery is a culmination of these experiences since the beginning of my time as an artist.
“The art works are my personal responses to my background and sensitivities top the beautiful but poignant experiences of living in a community where redundancy was always in the shadows. These works through the pared down structures, almost skeletal, with faded colour try to reflect memories of seeing and feeling."
Exhibitions
Solo:
July 2006 "New Work", Cyprus College of Art, Paphos, Cyprus
August 2004 "The Comfort of Repetition", The Queens Hall Gallery, Narberth, West Wales.
October 2003 "Sculpture and Drawings", The Nevil Gallery, Llanelli, Wales.
April 2002 " Brinley  Neil Stephens, New Sculpture" Cyprus College of Art, Paphos, Cyprus.
September 1997 "Work from Moor Lane", Montage Gallery, Castleton,North Yorkshire.
October 1997. "Captured Moments", Cypus Collegeof Art, Paphos, Cyprus.
May 1996, ‘Drawing Exhibition". Grape Lane Cafe, Whitby, North Yorkshire.
Plus  seven international group exhibitions including "Rundgang", The Kunstakadamie, Dusseldorf, Germany. Also 11 group shows  in U.K.
Awards: Leonardo de  Vinci, Welsh Arts Council, Middlesborough open (1st prize winner). The Principal’s Prize, Winchester School of Art. Southern Power Tools Arts Prize. R.K. Burt Prize for Drawing, D E H  Pratt Trust Award. Alex Gordon Partnership Award.

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ARTALK 2007            

Artalks is on at Castelliotissa Hall, Paphos Gate, Old Nicosia on Saturday.
This remarkable programme of seminars and art events continues throughout May.
All events are free of charge and will continue in autumn. For further details please contact Artalk Ltd, Tel +  357 22 438264
This Saturday, May 19th: One Day With Omada Ergasias. "Nicosia Architectural Biennial"
Meeting at 10:00am at the Municipal Marke, Old Town Hall Square. The day includes a walking tour through Cypriot modernist architectural vernacular, a visit to Aspelia Court and  guided bus tour to Las Vegas, Nevada, Nicosia.
Afternoon tea and discussion with members of Omada Ergasias at Castelliotissa Hall.
The day’s events come to an open-ended finale with two Laptops and a Bow Tie:
Party and Enclosed Urban Flaneury at new Division Bar.
Feel free to join the event at any time throughout the day.
For full details of locations and timetable please contact
omadaergasias@omadaergasias.com,tel +35799719169
Tuesday May 22
8:00pm Re-writing the city. The grammar of resistance.
A film presentation by Floria Waldvogel (Curator with Witte de With, Holland)
Will include Bennett Miller’s ‘The Cruise" and Bill Siegel and Sam Green’s "The Weather Underground"
Venue:  The Weaving Mill, 67-71 Lefkonos str. Phaneromeni, Old Nicosia.
Thursday, May 24
8:00 pm Launch of the publication "Thinking the City"
Presentation by Peter Loizos.
Contributors to the publication include David Officer, Abdi Narges, Christos Hadjichristos, Omada Couta, Haris  Pellapaisiotis, Anri Sala, Anton Vidokle, Raven75, Mark Bill, Claudia Wegener, Yiouli Taki, Christina Lambrou, Rana Zincir Celal, CALL#192, Peter Loizos and Alexandra Manglis.
Venue: Castelliotissa Hall, Paphos Gate, Old Nicosia.
Keep Saturday, May 26 free too.
 
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Still On

        
*Scape Views (on paper) by Milka Panayotova at the Studio Gallery – Pericleous 65, Old Nicosia
This exhibition opened on Saturday 12th May at 8 pm and continues until 21st of the month (everyday 5:30 – 8.30 pm)
Milka Panayotova has her first solo exhibition here in Cyprus on 12th May at Studio Gallery in the heart of old Nicosia.
* Swept Away. Mary-Lynne Stadler at Dino’s Art CafE, Irinis Street, Limassol until May 27.
 Permanently resident in Cyprus since 2003, Mary-Lynne has recently been exploring, through painting a particular experience she had while in south India in 2006. The artwork she is showing in Dino’s explores this subject and forms a distinct body of work comprising several large canvases.
* Consantinos Kyrtis at Gallery k, Nicosia until May 26.
Kyrti’s work is populated with lively portraits. An old man with his bicycle, a young woman sitting on a couch holding a cup of coffee, a boy obstinately staring at the viewer, all real, almost tangible everyday people
Kyrtis graduated from the Art institute of Southern California in 2003. There, he studied painting under Stephen W. Douglas, a leading L.A. painter and received the award ‘Best of Fine Arts’ in his sophomore as well as in his senior year, Constantinos Kyrtis also received the ‘Young Artist Award’ in 2006 in Cyprus.
* Mike Marshall at Pharos centre of Contemporary Art, Nicosia,  exhibits until May 31.
* Nicos Tornaritis has opened an exhibition of paintings by Christos Charalambous and Gabriella & Vaso Papett  at Kykklos Art Galley, Paphos. It will continue until May 20.
*Veysi Soyer  with his "Epistles of Heart"- drawings  and plate sketching are at Ataturk Cultural Centre. Show ends tonight.
* Theodotos Kasinidis at Larnaca Municipal Gallery until May 19.
* Christos Kalfas has an exhibition at Gloria’s until June 4.

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 View of Cyprus

A photographic Itinerary from the 19th to the 20th century at Evagoras Lanitis Centre, Limassol continues until May 27.
Photographs from the collections; Leventis Museum, Haris Yiakoumis, Antonis Hadjipanayis, Tasos Andreou, Kadir Kaba, Huseyin Ors, Nicos  Panayiotou, Fivos Stavrides.
The exhibition is based on the book "The island of Cyprus: A photographic itinerary from the 19th to the 20th century. Entipis Publications Nicosia 2007, by Lucie Bonito, Haris Yiakoumis and Kadir Kaba.

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Diadromes by Demetriades       

Spyros Chryssi Demetriades is exhibiting at Pegasus Art Foundation until the 25th of May.  This brilliant artist of Cyprus is based in Limassol. Demetriades makes  highly critical comments on this society painted with great wit and visual accomplishment.
 
 
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Michalakis Charalambides                     

Charalambides shows at Morphi Gallery, Limassol. This excellent exhibition shows calm, relaxing, naturalistic paintings of great beauty.

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Petros Maliotis at Opus Gallery                 

Show is on until May 26.
Petros Maliotis was born in Nicosia in 1976. He started taking pictures when he was 15 years old.
His exhibition with the title ‘Synesthimatography’ is his first solo attempt. With 30 creative photographs he tries to document 30 emotions we experience in our lives. Using comfortably a variety of photographic techniques, he creates a collection of photographs that are not a simple documentation of our outside world, but try to "invade" in the emotions of the protagonist (s) and/or the viewer of the pictures.
The poet Kyriacos Charalambides wrote about Petros’ work: " With these photographs, Petros Maliotis does not only uphold the memories of the moments he captures with his lens in Cyprus and abroad, but he energises the imagination and conscience of the viewer in an extremely suggestive way. All this within the functional balance of shapes, the plasticity of lines, the correct perception of light and shadow – a wholeness which observes with tenderness and imprints with accuracy various views of reality, as he interpreted for us.."
His pictures have been awarded in various local competitions in Cyprus and abroad. In 1997 he won an honorable mention in the international photo competition titled "World  Heritage Sites" organised by UNESCO.

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 Moving on
Those international artists at the Cyprus College of Art are exhibiting at the Panicos Mavrellis Foundation, Limassol until the 24th of the month  and also at Lemba until June 3rd. Lively, topical, full of colour and high aesthetic standards.
                    
THE SECRET IS OUT  …
The Limassol School will move to Larnaca on the 22 June (near St Lazarus Cathedral). However, the College will still keep its existing site in Lemba.

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Season of auctions still flourishing

Cypria Auctions are conquering the Nicosia Hilton these days. The actual event will be on Wednesday 23rd May at 6.30 pm. They are auctioning Greek and Cypriot 19th and 20th century paintings
Pre-viewing  is important with auctions as you can inspect the masterpieces at leisure and in depth.
Some pre-dates at the Hilton:
Saturday 19th May (tomorrow) 3 pm -9 pm
Sunday to Tuesday     9 am -9 pm
Wednesday 23rd May  9am – 2 pm
Auction Wednesday  6.30 pm
There’s a great catalogue too published by Cypria Antiques & fine Arts K.V. Ltd.

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Post Synergetic remembrance

Great to hear last Friday about the Limassolian Syn-ergio. There was a Synergy decades ago in Nicosia:
 Synergy 1 (1971), Synergy 2 (1972) and the last one, Synergy 3 (1973) in which there was "A road to Famagusta".  There was no Synergy 4, of course.

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On your toes?

News comes on of the Austrian entry to the European Dance Festival in Limassol.
Remember, the Ministry of Education and Culture provide a free shuttle-bus service from Nicosia to the Rialto Theatre/ Limassol and back. The bus will leave on Friday, 25th May 2007, at Hotel Hilton in Nicosia. For reservations  please call Stelios Georgiou of Georgiou Buses (22373 645) by Thursday, 24th May, 12.00h.

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