Stass PARASKOS

Stass PARASKOS
1933
2014

Stass Paraskos was born in Cyprus but spent much of his life in the UK. At Leeds College of Art he met the artists Terry FROST and Wilhelmina BARNS-GRAHAM, who persuaded him to move to Cornwall, which he did in 1959. In St Ives he shared a studio with Barns-Graham until he returned to Leeds in 1962.

In 1966 Paraskos was involved in a court case relating to the display of 'lewd and obscene' paintings at the Leeds Institute Gallery. He lost the case despite the support of many prominent individuals. The fame which resulted led to invitations to teach, and exhibitions at major venues such as the ICA in London. In 1969 he founded a summer school for British art students in Famagusta, which evolved into the Cyprus College of Art, with Stass as its principal. At the same time he continued to teach in the UK, becoming a senior lecturer at Canterbury College of Art in 1970. He and his wife retired to settle in Cyprus in 1989, from where he continued to exhibit and produce poetry, articles and books on history and politics.

His work has been exhibited world-wide and is represented in numerous collections in the UK including Tate Britain. In 2008 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bolton for his services to art and art education.

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Painting

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references

 The Guardian - obituary 28.3. 2014