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Born
at Palechori, Cyprus in March 1940.
In
1958 he studied Art at Saint Martins School of Art,
London.
In
1960 he won a scholarship to China, where he continued
his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts with Ai - Choun
- Sin.
In
1963 he went to Czechoslovakia, on a scholarship, where
he continued and finished his studies at the Academy
of Fine Arts in Prague with Antonyn Pelts. He received
his degree of Art in 1967 and the title of Academic
Artist. Since then, he lives and works in Pafos, Cyprus.
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| His
works have been displayed at numerous personal and group
exhibitions in Cyprus and abroad. On many occasions, both
recognised art critics and eminent theoreticians have
praised the particular qualities of his work. |
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| ONE
MAN EXHIBITIONS |
| 1964 |
Prague,
Czechoslovakia |
| 1965 |
Nicosia,
Cyprus |
| 1967 |
Metro
Gallery, Prague |
| 1970 |
Paphos,
Cyprus |
| 1971 |
Gallery
Argo, Nicosia |
| 1972 |
Limassol,
Cyprus |
| 1979 |
Gallery
Zygos, Nicosia |
| 1983 |
Gallery
Gloria, Nicosia |
| 1985 |
Gallery
Gloria, Nicosia |
| 1987 |
Bromham
Mill Gallery, Bedford U.K. |
| 1987 |
Stantobury
Campus Gallery, Milton Keynes U.K. |
| 1987 |
Central
Library, Wood Green, London |
| 1988 |
Morphi
Gallery Limassol, Cyprus |
| 1990 |
Apokalypse
Gallery Nicosia, Cyprus |
| 1993 |
Kyklos
Gallery Paphos, Cyprus |
| 1994 |
House
of Cyprus, Athens Greece. |
| 1996 |
Amorgos
Gallery, Nicosia Cyprus. |
| 1996 |
Cyprus
Corner, Larnaca Cyprus. |
| 1997 |
Apocalypse
Gallery, Nicosia Cyprus. |
| 1998 |
Cyprus
Corner, larnaca Cyprus. |
| 2000 |
Kyklos gallery, Pafos, Cyprus.
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| 2005 |
Gloria Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus.
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| 2007 |
Multicultural Center, Hellenic Bank Nicosia, Cyprus.
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| 2008 |
Kypriaki Gonia Gallery, Larnaca, Cyprus.
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| GROUP
EXHIBITIONS |
| 1970 |
London,
Commonwealth Institute |
| 1973 |
Platres,
Cyprus (awarded the prize of C.T.O) |
| 1974 |
Hamburg |
| 1975
|
Panhellenic
Art Exhibition, Athens Greece. |
| 1977 |
Contemporary
art Museum, Belgrade, Yugaslavia. |
| 1979 |
Salonica,
Greece |
| 1983 |
Paris |
| 1984 |
National
Gallery, Athens |
| 1985 |
National
Art Gallery, Budapset, Hungury. |
| 1986 |
New
Delhi 6th Triannale, India |
| 1986 |
The
Showroom Gallery, London |
| 1986 |
Pancyprian
Exhibition Famagusta Gate, Nicosia |
| 1987
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Artist's
Union Gallery Sofia, Bulgaria |
| 1987 |
Kostis
Palamas Building, Athens |
| 1987 |
Famagusta
Gate Pancyprian Exhibition, Nicosia |
| 1988 |
Cyprus
Art 1900-1988, Brussels |
| 1989 |
Group
exhibition by Cypriot Artists Moscow |
| 1990 |
Cyprus
Art Chateau De Tours, France |
| 1991 |
Cyprus
Art Commonwealth Institute, France |
| 1992 |
25
Cypriot Artists House of Cyprus, Athens |
| 1992 |
"Europa
24", Szombathely Gallery, Hungary |
| 1994 |
Anger
museum, Erfurt Germany. |
| 1995 |
Opus
39 Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus. |
| 1998 |
Nordico
Museum, Linz Austria. |
| 2002 |
Zacharias Gallery, Limassol, Cyprus. |
| 2002 |
The
Nicosia Municipal Arts Center, Nicosia Cyprus. |
| 2003 |
KYKLOS Art Gallery, Paphos, Cyprus. |
| 2005 |
Famagusta Gate, Nicosia, Cyprus. |
| 2007 |
Myth an Image Gallery "Pegasus", Limassol, Cyprus. |
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Self
portrait
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"Kotsonis'
nudes are clinically observed. Cool is the word,
keeping their distance while they look out to
sea. It is as if they were holding their power
and thinking a lot. Kenneth Clark said of Raphael
that his nudes come close to antique art without
pedantry and the same could be said of Kotsonis'
pictures. Belonging to the antiquities of Paphos
yet very much alive. Their distancing gives a
timelessness, and yet they are distinctly modern.
A second glance back at the artist's seascapes
and the background of his nude pieces demonstrates
that this Cypriot artist is as much involved with
space as abstract artists such as Pasmore and
Heron. The areas filled in with blue to evoke
sky or sea can stand as non - figurative formal
laminals as well as a spatial surround for the
central figure.
In
rock and seascapes the artist captures a certain
yellow light, which is particular to the Middle
East. This bounces off the bumps and crevices
of the rock formation giving the impression of
folds. They then allude to Byzantine drapes giving
a springing energy to his placid forms. Paphos,
where Kotsonis lives, is a district with distances
and the contrasts in light due to the nearness
of the sea radiate a quite aggressive spatial
mood in a viewer unless he can distance himself.
And this what Kotsonis does. He allows our eyes
to roam over these extraordinarily beautiful female
bodies as the eyes take in the Paphian shoreline,
sea and sky, wandering over every subtle mound
like an eagle gliding over an Aphrodite rock of
eternal marble. His nudes are stoic, unavailable
and permanent. His portraits watch us with eyes
deep in concern"
-
Glyn Hudghes
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