Elina Ioannou: Stone Supremacy

Solid and heavy or versatile and easy to manipulate, the artist honours her past and celebrates the present shaping stone by hand into works of art.

Text: Romina Xyda

For most people, art is an abstract concept. For Elina Ioannou, a visual artist, it is an act of salvation and catharsis that can transform the world into a better place. Elina’s better world took shape in Limassol, her birthplace, growing up loving long summers, bright light, the golden colours of the Cypriot landscape, and everything to do with art.

She studied interior architecture in Cyprus to pursue postgraduate studies at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Montpellier in France. She has participated in several independent and group exhibits at home and abroad, collaborating with major brands such as Hermès Paris and Camper. Elina’s work is kept in the State Collection of Contemporary Art of Cyprus, the MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections, the Nicos Pattichis and Phileleftheros Newspaper Collection, the Parklane, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, the CNP, public spaces and private collections in Cyprus and abroad. Summing up, Elina Ioannou has made her imprint on the world of contemporary art. 

Through the years, Elina’s work has evolved in its shape, form and material, reflecting changes in her interests and concerns, but always connecting through similar subjects. Of late, she continues to carve fine sculptures and other installations in the workshop of her father, Yiannis Yiannis, one of the last stonemasons of Cyprus. Cypriot stone is her protagonist; as one of a few sculptors who have inherited this primordial technique, Elina is grateful and devoted to its art form and organic characteristics. Unlike marble’s shining finish, stone absorbs light. Her creations are appraised as no less than precious gems.

Elina Ioannou carves Cypriot stone, transforming it into fine sculptures and other installations.