Loizidou Maria (1958)

She was born in 1958 in Limasol, Cyprus. She studied plastic arts at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, France (1976-1981). She received the Hélène Linossier grant (1980) and was also awarded the Prix de Paris (1981), which enabled her to continue her studies in Paris. With successive grants of Fondation de France (1982) and the Leventis Foundation (1983) she settles in Paris until 1986, where she attends courses on visual arts, art history and stage design, as well as philosophy seminars by Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault. In 1984 she presents her first solo exhibition in Paris (Cite des Arts) and in Nicosia (Famagusta Gate), while at the same time she participates in symposia organized by the Institute of Psychoanalysis Armando Verdiglione, with which she cooperates. In 1987, she settled in Nicosia.
Her work includes installations, videos, drawings and handmade constructions of various materials (fabric, synthetic materials, paper, metals, etc.). In a poetic vein, she creates forms that look as if they have leaped out from dreams or memories, alluding to questions on human existence, often through references to mythical symbols. Her art often echoes her familiarity with psychoanalysis and her own life experience of the recent history of Cyprus. She combines detailed, refined drawing and airy materials with the robustness of the composition and its active relationship with architectural space. She has created many monumental works, which are presently situated in public and private spaces in Cyprus, Greece, France, et al. Many of them have been awarded.
Alongside her artistic career, she has taught drawing at the Cultural Center Villeparisis in France (1983-1986) and has also worked with the Pratt Institute of New York, as an artist-visitor. She has also cooperated with various cultural institutions on educational programs for children. Since 2006, she is a member of the group AA + U for Architecture, Art and Urbanism. She has written articles on art and architecture.
Her solo shows so far are more than twenty, presented in Cyprus, Greece and other European countries. She has participated in group exhibitions and international art events as well. In 1986 she represented Cyprus at the Venice Biennale with the video installation The myth of Ariadne in three acts, in 1987 she took part in the Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean Region (Barcelona), and in 2004 she participated in the 9th International Architecture Biennale of Venice (Greek pavilion). In 2009, she won first prize for her participation in the 15ème Biennale Internationale de Céramique Contemporaine (Châteauroux, France).