18
T
he A. G. Leventis Gallery opened its first
temporary exhibition
Representations and
Interpretations – The Pioneers of Cypriot Art
on 16 May 2014. The exhibition, which will run
until 6 October 2014, consists of works that are
part of
The Cyprus Collection
of the A. G. Lev-
entis Gallery and belong to the first generation
of Cypriot artists and to artists of the inter-war
years born between 1884 and 1937. Returning
to Cyprus after their studies abroad, these art-
ists sought inspiration from their immediate sur-
roundings and thus their themes are inspired by
the natural but also built-up environment.
These artists include Ioannis Kissonerghis, Ada-
mantios Diamantis, Georgios Pol. Georghiou,
Telemachos Kanthos, Loukia Nikolaidou, Tas-
sos Stephanides, Fotos Hadjisoteriou, Xanthos
Hadjisoteriou, Michalis Michaeledes, Cos-
tas Economou, Lefteris Economou, Michael
Kashalos, Avgi Leventi, Vassos Lyssarides, Vera
Gavrielidou Hadjida and George Skotinos.
The exhibition was opened by First Lady Andri
Anastasiades.
The first of many
Speaking at the opening, the Manager of the Gal-
lery, Loukia Loizou Hadjigavriel, said, “Our am-
bition is for the exhibition we are opening today
to be the first of many. Our goal is to host exhibi-
tions in this hall, which will open new prospects
for all – small and big, ‘experts’ and non.”
The Chairman of A.G. Leventis, Anastasios Pav-
los Leventis, referred to the reasoning behind
The Cyprus Collection
that includes works of
first-generation Cypriot artists.
“The first painters of Cypriot tradition represent,
for us who live abroad, something even more
important. They express our country’s identity,
the light and colours of our island in a tangible
and direct way. They thus echo our Foundation’s
goal to collect artworks that represent and inter-
pret our Cyprus,” said Leventis.
Opening the exhibition, Andri Anastasiades un-
derlined the significance of the Leventis Gallery
for Cyprus. “All future generations will refer,
with a sense of pride and great honour and grati-
tude, to this donation by Anastasios Leventis to
Cypriot Hellenism, which he so loved and for
which he worked and toiled.”
The gallery also includes an educational area for
children with digital applications, as well as an
area for them to paint and exhibit their works.
Furthermore, the exhibition’s curator, Dr Eleni
Nikita, regularly takes visitors on scheduled
tours, the details of which can be found on the
A.G. Leventis Foundation’s website
-
entisgallery.org).
Representations and Interpretations
The Pioneers of Cypriot Art
One of the exhibits
