JOHN CHRISTOFOROU

JOHN CHRISTOFOROU
Alpha Gallery
MAKARIOS AVE. & PAPANIKOLI 3, 1077 NICOSIA, CYPRUS
+357 22751325
www.art.com.cy
JOHN CHRISTOFOROU
March 2011
Nicosia
Alpha Gallery
John Christoforou was born in 1921 in London to Greek parents from
Smyrna. At age nine he returned with his father to live in Athens. In 1935 he
entered the Athens Academy of Fine Arts. Several years later he returned to
London and after World War II devoted his time to painting, eventually earning
his first solo exhibition in 1949 at the Twenty Brooke Street Gallery in London.
Over the course of the next sixty-two years he presented his work in over
fifty solo exhibitions and participated in more than one-hundred group
exhibitions throughout the world.
John Christoforou is recognized as an important pioneer of the Nouvelle Figuration (New Figuration),
an international movement that emerged in the early 1960’s from the abstract art movements of
the previous decade and included leading artists such as Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning.
His works are found in many important public collections, including:
Museum des 20 Jahrhundrets,Vienna
Bibliotheca National de Colombia, Bogota
Museum of Danish Art, Randers
Museum Jorn, Silkebrog
Biblioteque Municipale, Brest
Musee d’Art Contemporaine de Dunkerque, Dunkirk
Centre d’Art Contemporain, Montpellier
Cabinet des Estampes de la Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris
Centre Culturel de Toulouse, Toulouse
Musee des Beaux Arts, Toulouse
Tate Gallery, London
Contemporary Art Society, London
Museum of Contemporary Art, Elise and Basil Goulandris Foundation, Athens
Frissiras Museum, Athens
National Art Gallery, Athens
Museum of Art, Seoul
Musee Olympique, Lausanne
Museum of Modern Art, Taiching
Vorres Museum, Athens
Museum of Contemporary Art, Cuauhtémoc
Musee Galliera, Paris
Emfietzoglou Foundation, Athens
Centre des Arts Plastiques Albert Chanot, Paris
Portrait with Red Hat, oil on canvas, 54x45 cm.
My thanks and thoughts go out to all those involved in organizing my
first one-man exhibition in Cyprus.
I much regret, however, that my age prevents me from being present at
the opening - however, I still continue to paint and to exhibit!
Please accept again my warmest wishes and thanks to you all.
John Christoforou
Oriental Dancer, 1951, oil on board, 73x46 cm.
The tragic character of our times constitutes a reality that we cannot ignore.
No matter what we do, we are always face to face with human drama.
Portrait on Blue Background, 1980, oil on canvas, 73x60 cm.
The plight of the contemporary artist - one who refuses to submit to the
dictates of trends and homogenizing effects of the system - is a feeling of
abandonment and rejection, which have the power to overwhelm. As long as
he finds himself outside of society he is fated to act on his own, a situation,
however, which can also give him the power to dig deeper beneath the surface
and to express his passions and pain.
Man with Hat, 1981, oil on canvas, 65x54 cm.
It is true that man, without becoming frantic, needs myths, religion, prayer
and art. These are as necessary as bread - without them life loses all
meaning.
New Prophet, 1974, oil on canvas, 73x60 cm.
The drama of life is so immense that it cannot leave us indifferent.
Yellow Animal, 1975, oil on canvas, 73x60 cm.
Deep inside, art was for me an expression that refers to man with all his
shortcomings - and they are so many!
Shell Man, 1980, oil on canvas, 55x46 cm.
I am passionate about the human being: its acts, its dark motives, its
psychological impulses, its frenzied endeavours to make dreams come true,
its desires and passions. This is our Fate.
Portrait of a Friend, 1962, oil on canvas, 65x55 cm.
I view life as a chance and fleeting experience. The only thing that seems
important to me is to identify those temporary feelings.
Man with Many Eyes, 1974, oil on canvas, 73x60 cm.
Over the course of the centuries, we have been our own image. Sometimes
as gods and devils, other times as simple men and women. At times we paint
with love for our own selves and sometimes we show folly’s gross, beastly and
tragic face.
Petite Danseuse , 1987, oil on canvas, 56x46 cm.
The crucial moment is my first reaction when I find myself opposite it
[the painting], like someone who came from far away. Then I can tell if it
reverberates inside me; if not, I destroy it. There are losses in my work.
Les Amants aux Abines, 1998, oil on canvas, 55x46 cm.
Man in his rarest of moments - the noblest or the most base - is the theme
I try to portray.
Personage, 1960, oil on canvas, 46x38 cm.
Art can offer still a small ray of hope, and encourage the attempt to discover
and explore a few truths about life.
Scarecrow, 1973, oil on canvas, 81x65 cm.
This catalogue is pubished on the occassion of John Christoforou’s
first solo exhibition in Cyprus, March 2011.
Exhibition Organizers
Alpha Gallery
Catalogue Design
Bubbles Design
Printing
Ch. Nicolaou & Sons
Special thanks to Anette Birch for her valuable advise and assitance.