Stass Paraskos

Born in Cyprus in 1933, into a family of very poor peasant farmers, Stass Paraskos was to become of one of the most important Cypriot artists of his generation.

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After emigrating to Britain in 1953, he studied at at Leeds Arts University (formerly Leeds College of Art), and became widely known in the international art world following his arrest by police for an exhibition he staged in Leeds in 1966.

As a lecturer on art, Paraskos taught at several British universities and art schools, and in 1969 he founded the first art college in Cyprus, the Cyprus College of Art.

Always a radical figure in the art world, his paintings and sculptures often tackled overtly political subjects, and he played a key role in the battle against censorship of the arts in Britain in the 1960s.

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With his work in major art collections around the world, Stass Paraskos remains to this day, the only artist born in Cyprus to have work in London's prestigious Tate gallery collection.