The Cyprus High Commission cordially invites you to the opening of the
contemporary art exhibition
George Koumouros
“Portrait Landscapes”
curated by Megakles Rogakos
Thursday 14 March 2019
18:30
Cyprus Home
(High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus, 13 St. James’s Square, SW1Y 4LB)
Under the auspices of His Excellency the High Commissioner of Cyprus, Mr Euripides Evriviades
Duration: 14 March – 5 April 2019 | Mon – Fri 10:00 – 16:00
“Portrait Landscapes” is a contemporary art exhibition by George Koumouros,curated by Megakles Rogakos.
The question “what remains of the past and what will follow in the future?” preoccupies George Koumouros, who visualises the specific anxiety in the works he painted during the period 2012-2017. His otherworldly pictures present personified landscapes or landscape portraits. These particular landscapes are deserted and silent. They are landscapes that once had life and now are permanently worn out of use or abuse. Without the slightest disposal of amelioration, Koumouros represents his prophetic vision. Perhaps with irony or sarcasm, he signals the end of civilisation. In his attempt to describe his paintings, the painter resorted to the writing of verses that were spontaneously revealed to him, inspired by his own creations, which now accompany them in the catalogue as their own words. He makes his painting narrative a possession of all of us. His images have wide appeal and timeless value. He breaks free from realism, but also from impressionism. For this reason, he borrows tools from the surrealist and the expressionist styles, so that with archetypal symbols on the one hand and with passion and/or emotion on the other, he may associatively express this essence. Koumouros wrote about the vision that imbues his works. He spoke about the absence of people, the need for coexistence and the compassion of nature. He ends with the desire that his Landscape Portraits are a potential talisman for a difficult and narrow way. As a talisman they are transmissible of the divine grace, able to deter and prevent evil, and bring good and happiness.
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George P. Koumouros was born in 1955 in Yialousa, Cyprus. He studied mathematics at the University of Athens (1980), painting at the Pythagorean Academy of Fine Arts (1989), and received a Master of Arts diploma in Making Educational Films from Middlesex University (2005). He taught Mathematics in Secondary Education in both Greece and Cyprus. Since 1995, he has been working at the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute for the production of audio-visual material. He has directed 28 documentaries. He keeps his own painting workshop since 1982. His work can be found in both public and private collections.
Short Bio of the Curator
Megakles Rogakos holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from The American College of Greece (1997); a Master’s degree in Arts Policy & Management from the City University, London (1998); another Master’s degree in Art History and Theory from Goldsmiths College, London (1999); and a PhD in Philosophy and History of Art from the University of Essex. In 2000-2004 he worked as an information officer at the Tate Gallery, conducted scholarly research and curated a series of multimedia exhibitions. Between 2004-2012 he held an appointment as ACG Art Curator at the American College of Greece. Since 2012, he works as an independent art historian and exhibition curator. He also publishes reviews of exceptional art exhibitions mainly at , but also at www.visuelimage.com.
