Ioannis ANTONIOU was born in Famagusta, Cyprus, in 1955 and died in 2013.

He studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs in France from 1977 to 1981. After returning to Cyprus, he became one of the founders of the Diaspro Art Centre in Nicosia, where he exhibited his work during the 1980s.

Antoniou was a contemporary Cypriot artist whose work was closely associated with ceramics, object-based art and experimental forms of visual expression. His practice reflected the wider developments of contemporary art in Cyprus during the late twentieth century, moving beyond traditional painting and sculpture towards works that explored material, form, surface and symbolic meaning.

His work is characterised by sensitivity to structure, texture and the expressive possibilities of ceramic and mixed-media forms. Through objects, constructions and sculptural compositions, Antoniou developed a personal artistic language that combined material experimentation with conceptual and poetic qualities.

He participated in group exhibitions in Cyprus, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom. In 1989, he won a prize for ceramics at the Baghdad Biennale, an important international recognition of his work. He was also included in the 2011 exhibition *The Object: Stories and Representations*, organised by the Evagoras and Kathleen Lanitis Foundation.

Ioannis Antoniou remains recognised as a significant figure in contemporary Cypriot art, admired for his contribution to ceramics, object-based practice and the development of experimental artistic expression in Cyprus.