“I was a Varoshiotoui [kid from Varosha], I wanted to work, to create and I didn’t have enough time, I had to learn as much as I could as fast as I could,” the great Cypriot artist Nina Iacovou of whom a retrospective exhibition is being organized once said.

The Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation and the Pierides Museum present the exhibition Nina Iacovou: Eyes to See and Hands to Touch, inviting audiences across the island to a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the pioneering artist’s work.

Opening at the Pierides Museum in Larnaca this Thursday, the exhibition brings together works from different periods of Iacovou’s creative career, highlighting the diverse and multifaceted aspects of her artistic practice.

Ceramics, paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations and mixed-media works, rendered in her idiosyncratic visual language, full of sensitivity yet also powerful, introduce viewers to the artist’s reflections and agonies, centred on the female form.

Drawing on the full scope of her artistic practice, the exhibition sheds light on Iacovou’s relationship with the Cypriot land, its clay and stones, as well as with its people, the memory of the place and the narratives that shaped her visual universe. In her work, lived experiences, events and traditions are kneaded and modelled through the hands and effect, into forms that resonate with the social imaginary. Gestures, materiality, touch and gaze intertwine with empathy and knowledge, weaving a personal, transcendent mythology in which the local acquires a universal dimension.

Apart from the displayed works, the exhibition is accompanied by a publication featuring sketches, drawings and handwritten notes from the artist’s archive. Curated by Dr Yiannis Toumazis, Demetra Ignatiou, Katerina Patsalidou and Irini Khenkin, the opening event is to be a highly anticipated affair, followed by a reception at the museum courtyard.

Iacovou (Famagusta 1931 – Larnaka 2025) was a pioneering Cypriot female sculptor, with a creative career spanning more than six decades. She studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts in the 1950s and in the studio of the sculptor and ceramics professor Giorgis Georgiou.

In Cyprus, she came into contact with the island’s ancient pottery and, working alongside master potters, became acquainted with the traditional ceramic heritage of Famagusta. She was particularly fascinated by the form of the anthropomorphic koukkoumara, which found creative expressions in her work. At the same time, she pursued a professional career in sculpture, creating monumental works for hotels, primarily in Famagusta.

In the wake of the events of 1974, she was forced to leave her hometown and settled in Larnaca, where she lived and worked until her death in 2025. Although she is primarily known for her sculptures and ceramics, Iacovou has utilised a variety of media and techniques. Her works are held in private collections in Cyprus and abroad, as well as in the State Art Collection.

Nina Iacovou: Eyes to See and Hands to Touch

Exhibition showcases the pioneering Cypriot artist’s work. May 7, 2026 – May 6, 2027. Opening night: 7.30pm. Monday–Thursday: 9am–4pm. Friday and Saturday: 9am–1pm. Tel: 22-128175. www.boccf.org