The great Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos (1933 – 2014) was one of the most significant artists to emerge from Cyprus and the founder of the Cyprus College of Art in 1969. Now, five artists influenced by his work are putting together an exhibition honouring him.
Stass was very supportive of any art form that drew upon or exemplified Cypriot culture and he was a political activist, writing frequent articles in Cypriot newspapers attacking the destruction of Cypriot culture, society and nature by uncontrolled capitalism.
In Pano Lefkara, Peter Bird, a resident artist in the college’s Larnaca campus and a teacher and curator, practices his unique detailed style. Like Stass he uses waste, everyday and found materials, giving a strong message about sustainability.
Peter’s current work focuses on dancers and along with another four artists, his art will be featured in the Vintage Emporium in Kato Drys from November 30 to December 1. The meticulous nature of his style plus his strong use of crimson, burnt orange and purple plus silver and gold, match well to some of the vintage and ethnic clothing.
Also in Pano Lefkara is a beautiful mural painted by more of Stass’ students and disciples, Phil Bird and Anna Georgiou. Phil headed the painting school in Larnaca and was the painting master of Foundation studies until 2010, working alongside Stass and Andreas Efstathiou. Phil has shown Internationally (in Britain, Germany, U.S.A and Cyprus) and his paintings are in public and private collections.
Anna is Phil’s partner and artistic collaborator; in her own words, her new paintings are “inspired by the magic and majesty of Cyprus, Catalonia and Dartmoor. The worlds that lay beneath the veil, there waiting for us all to see and be part of if we choose”. The mural in Pano Lefkara is about rejuvenation and re-birth of the seasons and features the Greek myth concerning Persephone, Demeter and Hades.
A fourth pupil of Stass is based in Kato Lefkara and will also be part of this exhibition. Aylin Myumyunova is a successful painter and her earlier works were much inspired by Stass. Nowadays she has adopted a Contemporary Neoclassicist renaissance style with layers of oil paint on canvas. She is much influenced by the Lefkara blue colour and the lace of Lefkara and surrounding villages.
The Legacy of Stass Paraskos Lives On
Exhibition with works by Peter Bird, Anna Georghiou, Phil Bird, Aylin Myumyunova and Martin Clark influenced by Strass Paraskos. November 30-December 1. Vintage Emporium, Kato Drys, Larnaca. 10am-4pm
