Despina Andreou - Enjoy the Silence

“Silks Gallery” is proud to present the Cypriot artist Despina Andreou and her painting exhibition entitled “Enjoy the Silence”. The main characteristic in Despina’s work is her unique style and the use of vibrant colour that she has been intuitively drawn to throughout her artistic carrier.

In her latest painting series these distinctive bright colours appear yet again. The main colours that she uses are Fuchsia and Orange. The other main pictorial themes of this series are the disproportionately grotesque bicycle and the posing figures, both presented in an abstract and a rather exaggerated way.

The way these themes are proposed to us is to provoke thoughts and processes in us that conclude to ideas such as femininity, sexuality, eroticism, together with a feeling of continuity and movement symbolised by the way the figures are balanced on the bicycle.

The human forms in their erotically exaggerated poses that they are depicted in immediately leads the viewer to question our own perception of the female body or rather how we would ideally want to “see” the female body with the images that are implanted in our aesthetic sensors by the society. At the same time the artist also brings out through the presentation of the figures a particular feminine softness and sexuality that many time gets overlooked by the juxtaposition of the grotesque and the sensual beauty.

The idea of the bicycle has always fascinated Despina Andreou ever since her childhood and here she is using it with all the implied symbolism of its pictorial aspects. The round wheels are there to mirror the breast of a woman, as well as to draw a parallel between how riding a bike is as natural as making love whereby you are not consciously analysing how the movement is produced, but merely enjoying the process and the silence afterwards. The seat of the bicycle evokes further images of sexuality of both of the sexes.

The choice of media for this series further reinforces the above mentioned themes of sensuality and movement. Acrylic paint is combined with charcoal and laid onto the canvas with a varied thickness. Layers of paint are boldly applied to parts of the canvas as a stark contrast to the almost transparent washes of colour. The result this technique produces is that of a soft and sensitive roughness which was intended by the artist in the first place.

Despina Andreou has a Masters degree in Fine Arts from the UK. After her return to Cyprus she has been working as a full-time artist, while also teaching art to students of various ages. She has held numerous exhibitions in Cyprus and in the UK.

The exhibition will be opened on the 6th June 2008 at 20:00 and will stay on until 18th June 2008.

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday: 10:00 – 20:00
Saturdays: 10:00 – 16:00