Theodoulos Gregoriou was born in Nicosia in 1956. Having grown up next to an ancient copper mine, his relationship with the past continues to inform his work to this day. From 1976 to 1981 he studied at the Nicolae Grigorescu Institute for Fine Arts in Bucharest on a scholarship from UNESCO, an organisation to which he subsequently donated some of his works, including Cellules-Choirokitia in 2010. He continued his curriculum on a scholarship from the French Government and enrolled at the Cité internationale des arts and School of Fine Arts in Paris (1986–1987).
Gregoriou is artistically invested in what he describes as the ‘layers of time’. Understanding time and its meaning as a construct, the artist focuses his attention on the markings and traces of its fluid passing and how it shapes social consciousness. To do so, he uses temporal contrasts to underline time’s passing and the evolutions that have occurred during those periods. Primitive or archaeological traces are juxtaposed with electronic technology, means and materials to garner new meanings, or readings. Ancient geometrical forms are translated into cell-like constructions of the natural, or reinterpreted into a binary format (01) of the electronic environment. By focusing on traces rather than direct representation, the artist allows himself to explore the malleable nature of time and its effects.
Choirokitia is as a great example of his style: the general shape, structure and arrangement of this Cypriot archaeological site and data extracted from research on it is adapted into the artwork through circular, even molecular designs. Past and present are made one through art.
Naturally, memory has come to play a central role in Gregoriou’s oeuvre, hence titles such as Mental Geography and Personal Geography, as exhibited by the artist at Place du Louvre in Paris.
He has presented his work in many solo and group exhibitions, including Cyprus, from the Neolithic Period of Theodoulos Gregoriou, Louvre Museum, Paris (2008); Tretyakov Museum, Moscow (2007); UNESCO, Paris (2006); Olympic Art Museum, Seoul / Ianchelevici Musuem, La Louvière / Kunsthalle, Mannheim / Modern Art Museum, Ostend (2005); Küppersmuhle Museum, Duisburg / Vienna Künstlerhaus / State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki (2004); Les Abattoirs Contemporary Art Museum, Toulouse (2003); Royal Garden, Toulouse (2002); OPEN – Lido, Venice (2001); North – South, National Museum, Warsaw / Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki (1999); André Malraux Municipal Centre of Contemporary Art, Colmar (1998); Venice Biennale (1997); FRAC / CRAC, Alsace (1993); Midi-Pyrenees Centre of Contemporary Art, Toulouse (1992); Aperto ’90, Venice Biennale / Modern Art Museum, Toulouse (1990).
Gregoriou lives and works between Cyprus and Paris.
