Elysia Athanatos

Elysia Athanatos was born in 1981 in Ascot (UK) and grew up in Cyprus.
In 1999 she left Cyprus for London where she studied Fine Arts at the Chelsea
University of Fine Arts and Applied Arts at Middlesex University of Fine Arts.
Drawn by the idea of beauty associated with Italian Art, she moved to Florence and
enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts (Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze),
where she got her degree in Fine Arts (Sculpture) in 2008.
Here she developed an interest for porcelain, which led her to a scholarship at an
artist residency in China (in Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital of the world).
During her stay she discovered the complexities of this material and deepened her
knowledge on clay by attending a Ceramic specialization course in Faenza (IT).
She had various solo exhibitions in Italy and Cyprus and Denmark and took part in
group exhibitions in Cyprus, Italy, Denmark, Estonia and Korea, while attending
Artist Residencies in Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center
(DK) and in Kohila Symposim (ET).
During this time keeping her artistic focus on the body, the physical contact, the
hand-to-hand challenge with matter and of what lies beyond reason.
She was awarded “Excellency” at the 1st Larnaca Biennale (CY) and
was a finalist at the 11th Korean International Ceramic Biennale,
of which her work is held in the collection of the Gyeonggi Museum of
Contemporary Ceramic Art (G-MoCCA).
Her work is also part of the collection in the Cyprus State Gallery of Contemporary
Cypriot Art.
She lives and works as a sculptor between Italy and Cyprus