Filenews 21 January 2026
It is said that when a work of art is troubling, provokes discussions and reactions, it has achieved its purpose, beyond any artistic value that is judged by the public and experts anyway, from the moment of its creation and exhibition to the public. The latest, especially, artistic approaches of the painter and former educator and art inspector, Giorgos Gavriel, were at the center of public opinion, dividing it, due to the subject matter and his own visual depiction of events.
A few days ago, the artist himself published on his Social Media his new work in which, on the occasion of visual material leaked on the internet, the supreme institution of the Cypriot state is depicted as a courtesan, provocatively dressed with the indication that only cash is accepted, while it is formed with the smoke that fumes the geographical aspect of the island, in deep grey colour.
The artist himself spoke about the rationale that led him to create this painting and the reflection he seeks to create with this artistic approach. Also, the Art Historian, Maria Paphiti and the Curator and artist Vassilis Vassiliadis, spoke about whether this work and others like it can be accepted, artistic license, if the institution of the President of the Republic and himself as an individual is affected, but also about the impact that such a work has.
Mr. Gavriel stated that this particular work of art "was made in the surrounding situation that was formed by the release of the video and each artist expresses himself according to the feelings and concerns caused by the events without taking into account the reactions that will be caused by the work".
He added that "certainly events give us food to create, but people must know that artists act as sensitive receivers in society, they listen to the political and social developments of their time and express it through their work, their works are the mirror of the society in which we live".
As the artist said, "art is not just to caress our eyes, it often provokes, insults, awakens, shakes us, and troubles us, and every artist must feel free to express himself, to talk about what he considers crucial even if it disturbs or shocks, because it is what often causes the necessary socio-political change".
On whether the institution of the President of the Republic and himself as an individual is affected, Mr. Gabriel said that "unfortunately the President does not need me to hurt his institution, he is doing just fine on his own together with his associates, based on what we saw in the video, but also with the policy he follows on various issues such as the genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza, and the many corruption scandals that our country is facing".
On whether artistic expression has limits and whether he himself violates them, the artist said that "artistic expression and freedom of expression are guaranteed based on Article 19 of our Constitution and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, so any attempt to set limits on this right are actions aimed at restricting freedom of expression".
He added that "art must be free, able to provoke and problematize, and any attempt to restrict this freedom is a blow to democracy itself and a setback for the whole of society."
Mr. Gavriel said that "in a democratic society, the boundaries of art are not determined by whether a work causes annoyance or insult, but by whether it violates fundamental human rights."
He noted that "art, for example, cannot - and should not - incite violence, hatred or discrimination and this is where the law, the state intervenes, on the contrary, annoyance, insult or disagreement are an integral part of freedom of expression".
"Society has every right to react, to judge, to reject and to criticize, but it does not have the right to demand the silencing of a work simply because it does not agree with its content," Mr. Gavriel said.
The Art Historian, Maria Paphiti, was asked about the artistic value of Gavriel's works, given that they also outline mainly gloomy moments in the lives of their protagonists, individuals or institutions.
In response, he said that "George Gavriel is a capable and talented artist, he graduated from the famous Surikov School of Fine Arts in Moscow, where world-renowned artists such as Ilya Glazunov, Tair Salakhov, Zurab Tsereteli, Tatyana Nazarenko studied, while this school pays special attention to good drawing, anatomy, painting and sculpture, but also to iconography".
He added that "these characteristics are perfectly reflected in the works of George Gavriel which are indeed characterized by excellent design, correct proportions, knowledge and use of colours, but also by the principles of traditional iconography. His artistic abilities are obvious."
Mrs. Paphiti said that "Gavriel has had an artistic career of 40 years during which he mainly dealt with Cyprus, the landscape, the land and its people, but also with the painting of the frescoes of Agios Georgios in Kokkinotrimithia, he had numerous exhibitions, both in Cyprus and abroad and his works are in many public and private collections".
She said that she is impressed, "that during his great artistic activity he has never occupied the public opinion and apart from those related to art or are collectors, no one has expressed an opinion about his works, which is happening now since it concerns a large portion of citizens, due to the different topics with which he has dealt in the last five or six years without being the only one. She noted that "the value of the works and the talent of the artist is not diminished because he chose to depict subjects that bother a portion of the public".
Asked what the limits of the "artistic license" are and whether Gavriel has exceeded them, Ms. Paphiti said that "we live in a democratic and free society, where every person has the right to have an opinion and criticize".
She added that "some criticize from their sofa, others from cafes, others behind closed doors, others publicly and too many through Social Media, their comments are often harsh, provocative and sometimes abusive, but they do not receive such attacks and are not targeted and simply some of our fellow citizens agree, some disagree and everyday life continues".
Ms. Paphiti went on to say that "this particular artist wanted to express his criticism through visual language, he did not impose his works on the public and did not require them to go to the galleries to see them, approve them and acquire them even though as I know most of these controversial works have been sold".
She said that in her opinion "neither censorship nor silencing should be attempted and those who disagree can simply bypass this particular art".
Ms. Paphiti said that "it is worth wondering why, among what is happening in the artistic field, only this time and only this subject matter is being targeted and discussed" and wondered "what about the rest of the and timeless and serious issues that concern artists and their work?"
On whether the institutions that Gavriel captures in a caustic way are affected, the art historian replied negatively, noting that "what we should be concerned about is what gives occasions and food to the artist".
Asked if these types of works are high in the preferences of collectors, Ms. Paphiti said that "most of these much-discussed works have been sold, which proves that people are asking for them".
She also referred to other works by George Gavriel with themes that do not "bother" such as the four works that show landscapes and people of Cyprus in nature, which were part of the charity auction that took place for the benefit of the Nicholas Zoe Foundation last September and while they had a starting price of €420, they were finally sold for €1250 each.
"These results alone show that there is a great demand for the works of Giorgos Gavriel, as was the case in his forty-year career" continued Ms. Paphiti to close with her personal assessment that "just as the artist criticizes, he should equally be judged, but judged globally, taking into account his entire artistic production and not individual works, Because this attitude lacks objectivity and is unfair."
His own assessment that "there is no point in discussing anything because the content of Gavriel's latest works is the same, the situation is the same, the protagonists are the same and the most tragic of all is that the arguments are the same" was expressed by the curator and artist Vassilis Vassiliadis.
He added that "they are just repeated and whoever discusses it and argues and enters into a dialogue repeats the same things".
Mr. Vassiliadis said that the issue that arises with the works of G. Gavriel "is 100% cut and sewn to polarize, therefore because I don't think the timing is random either, as in previous times, the artist polarizes again and there are two categories of our fellow citizens who make sure that this mill turns".
One category "is politicians because when the issue was about to be forgotten they rekindled the issue with some of their statements because polarization translates into votes and the other category is unfortunately in many cases journalists because in journalism this translates into headlines".
Mr. Vassiliadis stated that "a mill has been created that is turned by these two categories of our fellow citizens and the rest of society and those of the above who do not embrace the same philosophy, we bite stale baits and stumble on stones while at the same time we become vulnerable to interest".
"No matter how many times Gavriel does it, the world will be equally polarized," said Mr. Vassiliadis, who noted that he does not believe "that art should bother".
"I am not bothered by Matisse's still life, I am not bothered by the Parthenon, but in the case of the President of the Republic as a courtesan, Mr. Vassiliadis, mentioned that George Gavriel himself had previously stated that he creates art to disturb with Mr. Vassiliadis disagreeing with this and wondering why art should bother.
On whether institutions and symbols are affected by some works of art, Mr. Vassiliadis said that "symbols have no rights, something that many people do not know and come to defend the symbols".
He explained that "a President of the Republic, an Archbishop, are symbols and have no rights, but people have rights and can express them."
As Mr. Vassiliadis noted, "whether art offends or insults symbols is another issue, because in all international events, the conditions for participation are that you should not touch on symbols, beliefs, ideologies and others, that is, they are within the general framework of the role of the artist in society".
Finally, regarding the use of the term censorship, he said that it is wrong "to say that when someone disagrees, it is censorship or fascism. It is not censorship to express my opinion, as George Gavriel did. Censorship is the institutional prohibition, it is not disagreeing with someone else."
The political system and society must enter into a dialogue to discuss issues that concern people, the artist and President of the Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts (EKATE), Athena Antoniadou, told KYPE, when asked to take a position on the new painting by the painter Giorgos Gavriel.
Athena Antoniadou pointed out that Giorgos Gavriel "does not only express himself as an artist", but "expresses the pulse of society". "One of the roles of artists is to express the pulse of society on too many issues, which some find reasonable and some find completely crazy," she said.
"The fact that Giorgos (Gavriel) expresses himself so dynamically and publishes his works on Social Media, in addition to being brave to a certain extent, is something that is felt by society," Ms. Antoniadou pointed out. "It may be his opinion, but he does not only express his own opinion, and this is evident from the response he has on Facebook or wherever he exhibits his works," she added.
At the same time, the President of EKATE noted that "the one who is judged through the artist's work must self-criticize and reflect on some things instead of making a whole fuss and condemning the artist. The artist cannot stop feeling the pulse of society, because he is sensitive," she underlined.
"Sponsored art is fine, but is a work that criticizes something that is done reprehensible?" she asked. "We must reflect as a society and as a government because too many things are happening, for which we do not get answers. It is very important to have someone who "bites" things, bothers a little, makes the other person think", stressed Athena Antoniadou.
At the same time, the artist expressed fear of a complete loss of freedom of speech, saying that a large part of it has been lost. "There is a lot of fear around us. People may not have felt it so much yet, but we will feel it," he added.
Answering a question, the President of EKATE stressed that "artists have a role and responsibility. The role of the artist is not just to do aesthetically beautiful and pleasing things in peacetime."
"In times of crisis," she continued, "artists have a huge responsibility, which we must manage ourselves. There is a debt, you feel it. If you don't express it, you stop working, Everything else looks colourless if there is no freedom," she underlined.
At the same time, Athena Antoniadou noted that the political system, the government and society must enter into dialogue. "Some issues are being promoted that are completely crazy, but no one has the right to talk about them. We are talking about green energy and on the other hand we are dismantling and cementing everything. We contradict each other," she pointed out.
The artist must position himself through his work and have the freedom of artistic expression, which he can even justify, she stressed.
Responding to a remark that there were reactions to Gavriel's previous works from a part of society and the political system, Ms. Antoniadou pointed out that artists are here to shock and promote a discussion with honesty. "There must be logical argumentation from the other side (S.S. from those who react)," she said.
In conclusion, the President of EKATE said that the work of George Gavriel was "shocking", while at the same time expressing the hope that "it will push us to start a dialogue on the various issues that concern us".
CNA
