COPPER RETURNS TO CYPRUS (EN)

The Copper Returns to Cyprus exhibition approaches printmaking as an independent and fully developed artistic language, one that is being rediscovered today by a wider audience.

For a long time, techniques such as etching, linocut and screen printing remained popular largely within professionals and collectors. 

Copper Returns to Cyprus proposes a different perspective: printmaking is presented here on equal terms with painting, as a complete form of artistic expression. The title refers to Cyprus as a historical source of copper — the original material historically used for intaglio printmaking.

However, the idea of “return” is understood more broadly: not as a return to the past, but as a return to perception — to the viewer.
The exhibition unfolds as a flow through three states of printmaking: process, language and object.

The first room presents printmaking as an act — a precise and physical process during  which the image emerges through the interaction of material, hand and time.

In the centre are the works by Viacheslav Grigorenko, for whom etching remains a space of discipline and concentration. His images are built through dense, controlled lines, where form is inseparable from pressure and effort.

The printing press is presented as a working instrument. Visitors can observe the inking of the plate, the preparation of the paper, and the moment of printing — a brief and irreversible act in which the image appears for the first time.

Works by Alexander Steshenko expand this field, introducing a more complex and layered visual language. Together, they reveal etching not as a reproductive technique, but as a process in which each print retains its own uniqueness.

The works of Hambis reveal printmaking as a space of cultural memory, where the personal and the collective merge into a unified visual language. His linocuts and screen prints are constructed through rhythm, ornament and structure. Each line and symbol form part of a larger composition, where the image absorbs the logic of textile, writing and architecture.

There is a sense of care and attentiveness towards Cyprus in his work — not as a subject, but as an inner experience. This is not a depiction of place, but a lived and carefully observed relationship with its culture, landscape and people.

Hambis is one of the key figures in Cypriot printmaking — an artist, collector and founder of a museum, whose work has played a significant role in shaping the development of this form of art.

Within the context of the exhibition, his practice becomes a key link to the concept of “return”. If etching establishes the material and historical foundation of printmaking, his work reflects its present condition — open, immediate and addressed to the viewer.

Here, printmaking moves beyond a specialised field and reappears as a direct and accessible artistic language, while retaining its depth and complexity.

The third room is conceived as a collector’s cabinet — an intimate and concentrated space. It presents large-scale etchings by Leonid Stroganov, works of high intensity, rich in symbolism, references and internal tension.

These images require time. They do not reveal themselves instantly, but invite slow and attentive viewing. Their structure reminds viewers of the tradition of old master prints and rare graphic works.

Here, printmaking is presented as an object of contemplation and intellectual engagement — a space where the viewer’s encounter may become a personal decision.

“Copper Returns to Cyprus” proposes to view printmaking as a living and contemporary artistic practice.

From process to image, from workshop to viewer, from technique to experience — printmaking returns to its viewers. This time not as a historical relic, but as a modern way of expression.