I remember Hourig Torossian from a bi-communal event at the Goethe-Zentrum in 2006/2007 “Art Aware Talks” where 16 artists from both sides of the island were presenting and explaining their art work and their philosophy in front of interested art lovers. We had good talks and as we both sign our art work with HT we had more than one thing in common.
Tonight she will open her solo exhibition at the Argo Gallery until September 30.
The Argo Gallery is not far from the big Debenham Department Store, just outside the old city of Nicosia. The viewing times are from 10:00 am as far as I remember. If it is closed than just knock next door or upstairs, there is somebody who is taking care of the gallery.
I pass on to you her profile and the introduction to her exhibition.
Profile
Hourig Torossian was born in Cyprus in 1967. She gained a first class honours BA degree in Fine Arts (painting) from Wimbledon School of Art and went on to complete her MA at the Royal College of Art in London. Since graduating in 1994 she has been an active artist exhibiting in Cyprus, Greece, the U.K., Austria and Germany. In 2005 she represented Cyprus in one of a series of exhibitions in Austria, highlighting Artist’s works from the ten new E.U. member states. In 2006 and 2008 she participated in a Biennial International exhibition ‘Art of the Stitch’ based in the U.K. which toured around Europe. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Applied Arts Department at Frederick University.
TO COLOUR AND SYMMETRY
‘To Colour and Symmetry’ is the theme of a new series of works, presented by Hourig Torossian at the Argo Gallery Nicosia, opening date Wednesday 13th of January 2010 until Saturday the 30th of January.
Large scale paintings on canvas and on paper represent a process of transformation from otherwise monochromatic imagery or materials, into layers of colour and rhythm. The raw materials for the figurative work comes from old family photographs most of them in black and white which have been altered and placed into a new visual environment. In more abstract pieces the images were taken from decorative iron window guards, found around old houses in Nicosia. Initially these images were transferred directly onto paper or canvas using graphite and later were developed into complex colour compositions.