

The SPEL building renovations, in the heart of old Nicosia, have been completed, yielding the infrastructure for a significant cultural project: the new State Gallery of Contemporary Art – SPEL. This new site opens its doors to the public for the first time on the 31st of January 2019, presenting a large-scale survey show of Christoforos Savva (1924–1968), curated by Jacopo Crivelli Visconti. The exhibition is co-organised by the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, Cultural Services and Point Centre for Contemporary Art, Nicosia, in conjunction with the participation of Cyprus in the 58th Venice Biennale (May – November 2019), which will be dedicated to Christoforos Savva.

Christoforos Savva Untitled, ca. 1962 Mosaic tiles on cement 58,5 x 41,5 cm Collection of Louis Couta, Nicosia Photo: Louca Studios
The artist

Χριστόφορος Σάββα Καλαθόσφαιρα, π. 1959 Υφασματογραφία 198 x 113 εκ. Ιδιωτική συλλογή Φωτογραφία: Louca Studios
Christoforos Savva is widely acknowledged as one of the most groundbreaking Cypriot artists of the 20th Century. In a relatively short period of time he produced an impressive and highly diverse body of works, ranging from the figurative paintings of the ‘50s to the abstract paintings, the sculptures, the experimentations with wire, cement, and fabric leftovers, as well as the forays in furniture design and the architectural interventions he undertook in the ‘60s. The coexistence of styles and the wide range of themes and references that appear in Savva’s work, from Greek and African Classical Art to Cypriot handicrafts, Folk Art, Informal Art, Pop Art, and avant-garde movements, all seem to suggest that strictly formal questions were not his main concern.


Christoforos Savva Composition with White, Red, Blue and Green, 1966-67 Oil on canvas 100 x 70,5 cm Collection of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia Photo: Louca Studios
Christoforos Savva Antropomorphous, 1964 Cement relief 127 x 64 cm Collection of George Rossides, Nicosia Photo: Louca Studios
Curator
Co-organiser
State Gallery of Contemporary Art – SPEL
Until the establishment of the Museum, the newly renovated building of the State Gallery of Contemporary Art – SPEL will be hosting a series of events, starting with a major survey exhibition devoted to the historical Cypriot artist Christoforos Savva (1924–1968).
Credits
Opening
The exhibition is inaugurated on Thursday, 31st January, 20:00, by the Minister of Education and Culture, Mr. Kostas Champiaouris.
Curator
Jacopo Crivelli Visconti
Project Directors
Louli Michaelidou
(Cyprus Ministry of Education & Culture)
Andre Zivanaris
(Point Centre for Contemporary Art)
The event is organised under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades.
Tell us what you think...