As September arrives, so do Cyprus’ art exhibitions. With the return to routine, the local art scene resumes activity after a short August break and welcomes new showcases by local and invited artists.

In Limassol, a collection of paintings created in an artist studio in Paris, find a temporary home at the Lumière Contemporary Art Gallery as Christina Drakos presents her SOME BODY exhibition.

The Cypriot artist’s solo showcase opens on September 5 at 7pm and runs until November 5. A collection of expressive figurative paintings created in her Parisian studio will be on display exploring the relationship between observation, anatomy, movement and artistic expression.

This body of work, as the artist explains, was inspired by the human figure and developed through the practice of working from live models.

“Working from a live model is, above all, an exercise in seeing,” says Drakos. “Each encounter presents something different: young and old, women and men, slender or powerfully built. Every body possesses its own architecture, its own balance and its own rhythm. Each person brings a different posture, a different energy and a new challenge to be understood.

“The practice begins with anatomy and form,” she adds, “but gradually becomes something far more profound: learning how to truly see. The aim is not simply to reproduce the body, but to understand it – to observe not only its structure, but also its movement, its presence and the silent emotion it conveys.”

In this process, the artist has just a brief moment to capture the tension of a gesture, the weight of a shoulder, the elegance of a hand, the curve of a back or the quiet poetry of a pose, thus making each work of art a map of an encounter that cannot be repeated.

Using expressive acrylics, bold brushstrokes, vibrant colours, simplified forms and at times, empty backgrounds, the paintings reveal not just what the artist observed, but also what she felt.

“SOME BODY is an invitation to slow down and truly look,” comments the artist. “To appreciate the extraordinary complexity hidden within the simplest gesture. To discover that the human body is never merely a physical form, but a living expression of experience, emotion and presence.”

SOME BODY

Solo painting exhibition by Christina Drakos. September 5-November 5. Lumière Contemporary Art Gallery, Limassol. Opening night: 7pm. Wednesday-Friday: 4pm-7.30pm. Saturday: 11am-1pm. Tel: 25344141www.lumiereartgallery.com