Larnaca, Cyprus. A retrospective exhibition of pioneering Cypriot artist Nina Iacovou is opening at the Pierides Museum in Larnaca this Thursday. The show is presented by the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation and the Pierides Museum.
Exhibition scope and content
Titled Nina Iacovou: Eyes to See and Hands to Touch, the exhibition brings together works from different periods of Iacovou’s career, highlighting the diverse aspects of her artistic practice.
Ceramics, paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations and mixed-media works are presented in her visual language, focusing on reflections and agonies centred on the female form.
Focus on place, materials and memory
The exhibition draws on the full scope of Iacovou’s practice to highlight her relationship with the Cypriot land, its clay and stones, its people, and the memory and narratives that shaped her visual universe. It presents how lived experiences, events and traditions are modelled into forms that resonate with the social imaginary, with gestures, materiality, touch and gaze intertwined with empathy and knowledge.
Publication and curation
Alongside the displayed works, the exhibition is accompanied by a publication featuring sketches, drawings and handwritten notes from the artist’s archive. It is curated by Dr Yiannis Toumazis, Demetra Ignatiou, Katerina Patsalidou and Irini Khenkin, and the opening event is to be followed by a reception in the museum courtyard.
Artist background
Iacovou (Famagusta 1931 – Larnaka 2025) was a pioneering Cypriot female sculptor whose career spanned more than six decades. She studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts in the 1950s and in the studio of sculptor and ceramics professor Giorgis Georgiou.
In Cyprus, she came into contact with ancient pottery and, working alongside master potters, became acquainted with the traditional ceramic heritage of Famagusta. She was particularly fascinated by the anthropomorphic koukkoumara form, which found creative expressions in her work, and also pursued a professional career in sculpture, creating monumental works for hotels, primarily in Famagusta.
Following the events of 1974, she left her hometown and settled in Larnaca, where she lived and worked until her death in 2025. Her works are held in private collections in Cyprus and abroad, as well as in the State Art Collection.
What aspects of Nina Iacovou’s work are you most interested in seeing at the exhibition?