Stelios Votsis

Stelios Votsis was a prominent Cypriot artist and one of the leading figures of modern art in Cyprus. Born in Larnaca in 1929, he studied art in England at several prestigious institutions, including the Slade School of Art, where he was influenced by realist artists such as William Coldstream. Despite early success, he was known for his strict personal standards and destroyed much of his early work.

After returning to Cyprus in 1955, Votsis co-founded the Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts and played a major role in introducing modern art to the island. His artistic style was mainly structural abstraction, and he worked in both painting and drawing. Throughout his career, he represented Cyprus in major international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale, São Paulo Biennial, and the Alexandria Biennale.

His works are held in important public and private collections in Cyprus and Greece. Later in life, he collaborated with artist Stass Paraskos on a series of shared paintings known as “pomishiarika,” which reflected a more democratic and experimental artistic approach. Votsis received several awards for his artistic contributions, including the Ruskin Prize in drawing and a bronze medal in a European painting competition. He passed away in 2012.