GEORGE POL. GEORGHIOU – Timeless Cyprus
March 13 – March 29
On the occasion of Cyprus’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union (January-June 2026), the A. G. Leventis Gallery, presents the temporary exhibition George Pol. Georgiou – Timeless Cyprus at the Hellenic Centre in London. This will be the first international presentation of the exhibition following its inaugural showing at the A. G. Leventis Gallery in Nicosia, Cyprus in 2022.
With this exhibition, the A. G. Leventis Foundation reaffirms its longstanding commitment to promoting and studying the history of Cypriot art. Through the Gallery’s exhibition, research, and publishing initiatives, the Foundation continues to highlight significant aspects of Cyprus’s modern artistic heritage—particularly the work of seminal first-generation Cypriot artists. Timeless Cyprus, together with its accompanying publication, offers audiences the rare opportunity to encounter important works by the great Cypriot artist George Polyviou Georghiou (1901–1972). The exhibition is notably enriched with works belonging to the artist’s family, recently returned from Famagusta through the efforts of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage in Cyprus.
Through his imagery, Georghiou became an essential figure in the visual narration of Cyprus’s modern history. His large, emblematic compositions—trapped for over forty years in his hometown of Famagusta—are now presented, studied, and shared with the public. His work has become deeply intertwined with the very act of documenting and interpreting the island’s cultural and historical identity.
Curated by Loukia Loizou Hadjigavriel (Director of the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation), Katerina Stephanides (Director of the A. G. Leventis Gallery), and following the vision of the late Eleni S. Nikita (first Curator of the Cyprus Collection of the A. G. Leventis Gallery), the exhibition serves as a tribute to an artist who considered it his duty to portray, with exceptional sensitivity, the defining moments—both monumental and intimate—of Cyprus’s history. These works stand as a homage to the island itself, evoking its roots and the passage of time. In the selected paintings, one finds Georghiou’s profound love for Cyprus, his knowledge, anxieties, passions, and his poetic reflections on events that shaped the nation. Through allegory, he paints Crucifixions, mothers with children reminiscent of Madonna, flags, symbols, monuments, humble homes, villagers in traditional dress, chapels, and cathedrals beside coffee shops—elements that together form a visual portrait of “Cyprus”: its land, its people, its essence.
The exhibition features a significant number of works returned from the occupied areas as part of a cultural property exchange agreement, complemented by additional works from state and private collections. Most were created during the 1940s and 1950s, collectively encapsulating the spirit and history of Cyprus from antiquity to modern times. For the first time, the curatorial team has restored and presented the original titles given by Georghiou himself.
The exhibition’s public programme features a lecture by Dr Yiannis Toumazis on Friday 13 March. Dr Toumazis played a pivotal role in the negotiations that enabled the return of artworks trapped in Famagusta—including numerous works by Georghiou—through the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage. Having personally visited and photographed sites in the occupied areas where the artist once lived and worked, he offers rare and valuable insight into both the recovery process and Georghiou’s artistic legacy. As he notes: “Although self-taught, Georghiou developed a remarkably rich artistic language, distinguished by technical mastery and thematic breadth, always inspired by Cyprus, its people, and its history.”
Additional public events include Creative Pathways, a special event with Mr Papadopoulos, Artistic Director and Maestro of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, on Tuesday 24 March, alongside guided tours and creative workshops for children and families taking place on both weekdays and weekends. Full details and timings for all associated cultural events can be found here.
This exhibition pays tribute to the artistic legacy of George Pol. Georghiou—his enduring love for Cyprus, its people and its stories—while bringing his significance as a central figure of Cypriot cultural history to UK and international audiences.
More info on the Guided Tours and side events can be found here.
