Australian Cypriot to hold Limassol exhibition

80 pieces blur the line between painting and drawing says ELENI PHILIPPOU

Bringing his works to Limassol, Australian Cypriot artist Chris Gaynor will present his latest art at Lumière Art Gallery in May. Titled Of The Body, the exhibition will open on Thursday in the presence of the artist.

It explores physical memory and experiences within the human form. The exhibited works are gestural in nature, from the body, not solely the action of the hand but the body also and all the while underpinned by poetic reference.

“The works are reflective,” comment organisers, “they are lyrical and they are to be experienced independently. Each work holds the space of a song, and the ever-present poetic references shift between the atavistic, the historical and the spiritual. They are an exploration of the self.

“Using commercial (flexographic) printers’ ink and a woven industrial paper (designed for paper bag manufacture),” they add, “this body of work, while technically, may be categorised as drawing, embody painterly characteristics that blur the line between the two practices. Each work is a reflection of a fresh vision, yet ever expanding in spiritual affirmation. The free-flowing, repeated gesture is an exercise in exploring the possibilities of an organic, personal calligraphy.”

A selection from some 80 pieces that were made throughout one month in Brisbane before moving to Greece make up the exhibition. Gaynor is currently based in Athens and will travel to Cyprus for the opening. His work is held in private collections in New York, Jakarta, Limassol, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

“Although a recent entrant into the ‘art world’,” say organisers, “Gaynor has spent the past decade actively developing a visual vocabulary by participating within a diverse range of creative practices. Among other roles, Gaynor’s background has involved apprenticing under an international tailor in Sydney, assisting a renowned fashion photographer and menswear stylist in London, and while in Brisbane, engaged in self-directed furniture design. He has also written and directed a short film.

“All these experiences,” they conclude, “have no doubt informed Gaynor’s aesthetic sensibility, but upon discovering the possibilities offered by painting and drawing he unreservedly made them his preferred forms of expression. Through the humility of their innate materiality, he believes that they are most effective in articulating abstract and poetic thought that, when experienced, reveals a spiritual place that is ever expanding and potentially beautiful.”

Of the Body

Solo exhibition Australian-Cypriot artist Chris Gaynor. May 4-20. Lumière Art Gallery, Limassol. Opening night: 7pm. www.lumiereartgallery.com. Tel: 25-344141