Glyn Hughes 1931 - 2014

9 Address Demetris Z. Pierides President of the Pierides Foundation This publication is dedicated to a very important artist of Cyprus. An artist that I would not hesitate to call a true Cypriot, even though he was born in Wales. Glyn Hughes was only twenty-five years old when he arrived in Cyprus in 1956, at a very difficult and troubled times, as we all know. He settled here, living through the entire recent history of the island until his death in 2014. Undoubtedly, he was an important chapter in the history of the art of our country. In fact, Hughes used to say that Cyprus made him a painter: “I think it is the island that created me, I consider myself a Cypriot painter. For me, my relationship with the place was decisive”. And what an artist, I would add! An artist whose presence was critical to the development of contemporary art in our island. Indeed, Glyn Hughes was a multifaceted personality: Painter, set designer, director, teacher and educator, journalist, art and film critic, writer, poet, pioneer in performance art and happenings in Cyprus. He began his career in Cyprus as a teacher of Art at the Junior School and later joined the staff of the English School in Nicosia. His interest in the socio-political and cultural life of the newly established Republic of Cyprus prompted him to set up a mixed youth club for reflecting on and discussing current issues known as the “63 Club”. Its patron was Glafcos Clerides, later to become President of the Republic of Cyprus. He remained a close friend of Hughes’ and together with his wife Lila and his daughter Kate, who had also been his student, very often opened the artist’s exhibitions. During the years 1960–1964, one of the most important pages of the history of Cypriot art was written by Glyn Hughes and Christoforos Savva, one of our country’s pillars of visual arts, who regrettably passed away prematurely. These two great artists forged a very creative friendship that led to the opening of the Apophasis Gallery, which some of you may remember. At a time when Cyprus had just thrown off British rule and was trying to make a new start, the establishment of this gallery was a move of fundamental significance that definitely changed the island’s art scene. For the first time, the scattered thoughts and visions of a group of young and dynamic men found the appropriate space and fertile ground for expression, in an island, where, despite the newly achieved independence, strong political, social and spiritual contradictions were prevalent. Glyn Hughes set roots in Cyprus and right away from the start became very popular with the locals, acquiringmany friends and collectors of his works. His exhibitions, his performances,