Great Greek painter on show in Nicosia

The paintings and prints of Mario Prassinos open in a new Nicosia exhibition says ELENI PHILIPPOU

An exhibition of works by the great Greek painter and printmaker Mario Prassinos will open at the Hambis Municipal Printmaking Museum in Nicosia on Monday, and will include a guided tour of the exhibition by its curator Manos Stefanidis, Professor Emeritus of the University of Athens.

This will be the first time the printmaking work of this acclaimed Greek artist is exhibited in Cyprus in its entirety. Even though Prassinos is a leading figure in the Greek artistic diaspora, he is little known in Cyprus. He worked alongside the founders of Surrealism in his youth, illustrating classic books of the French avant-garde, of which he was a pioneering printmaker. He also worked in the theatre as a key collaborator of Charles Dullin and Jean Vilar, creating unique tapestries, and writing texts that are both poetic and enigmatic.

Prassinos represents an entire artistic era and a variety of equally significant art forms. His first solo exhibition in 1939 at the Billiet-Worms gallery was introduced by René Char and seen by his distinguished friends Breton, Eluard, Duchamp, Man Ray, Benjamin Péret, Max Ernst, Dali and Arp amongst others.

As part of the current exhibition, which will continue until late December, various parallel events will take place starting with a three-day printmaking workshop. The Handmade Paper and Colour Printmaking workshop will take place from Wednesday to Friday at the museum and is aimed at educators and those who want to expand their knowledge of printmaking techniques.

The three-day workshop will include handmade paper making, colour ex libris printing using the lost material method, collage and printmaking using the Etching Lino technique. The printmaking workshop will be conducted by engravers Friksos Papantoniou, Stelios Stylianou and Eleni Panagidou while the handmade paper-making workshop will be conducted by Mariana Parisi. The workshop will run from 4pm to 8pm and participation costs €30. Interested individuals can book by sending an email to info@printmaking.cy.

Marios Prassinos kai Oi Eikones tou Vithou

Exhibition of works by the great Greek painter and printmaker Mario Prassinos. April 15-December 28. Hambis Municipal Printmaking Museum, Nicosia. Opening night: 6.30pm. Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-1pm and 6pm-9pm. Tel: 22-496930