Eleni Nicodemou was born in Alona in 1955. She initially studied economics at the University of Athens (ASOEE, 1973–1977), before enrolling at the School of Fine Arts in Paris (1979), graduating in painting and engraving in 1983.
Between 1981 and 1984, Nicodemou stayed at the Cité internationale des arts as part of her residency. She received scholarships from the French Government during 1981–1983 and 1987–1988, from the Leventis Foundation (1985–1986) and from EOMEX (Greece, 1980). In 1986 she was awarded the Matisse Prize by the Embassy of France in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Nicodemou’s paintings attempt to bridge the temporal distance between the past and present, harnessing timeless subjects and materials to develop a practice that speaks to the common unconscious. This sense of universality is cultivated in her abstraction: basic shapes in primary colours result in compositions written in a vernacular that precedes language itself. In this continuous balance between improvised form and calculated volume, the viewer’s perception is channelled through the paintings, navigating through light and idealisation, revisiting and anticipating human destiny.
In 2013, she published a book entitled Document (Editions Egeon), which brings together a series of comic-inspired texts and images centred around the aftermath of the explosion and destruction of Cyprus’s main power plant in 2011. These works were also the subject of an exhibition at the Gloria Gallery in Nicosia.
More recently, in her quest for human timelessness, Nicodemou has focused her attention on cloth and thread work. Her technique and materials enable her to explore figurative and literal methods to retrace humanity universality and weave together different peoples, cultures and eras.
She has showcased her work at Gloria Gallery, Nicosia (2018, 2010 and 2003); Rouan Gallery, Limassol (2012); ‘Gallery 3’, Athens (2006); Mira Gallery, Brussels (2005); Maison des Arts, Castillon-la-Bataille, Bordeaux (2001); Art Athina, Athens (2000); Gallery 2016, Hauterive, Neuchâtel (1997); Alexandria Biennale (1994); Y Grego Gallery, Lisbon (1990); International Engraving Biennale / Second Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, Thessaloniki (1986); International Biennale of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (1987 and 1985) and the Sixth Biennale of European Engraving, Mulhouse (1984).
Nicodemou lives and works in Nicosia.
