Katy STEPHANIDOU was born in Limassol in 1925 and died on 24 March 2012.

She studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1948 to 1955, where she attended painting classes under Yiannis Moralis. From 1956 to 1960, she continued her studies at St Martin’s School of Art in London, while also visiting museums and galleries in London and Paris. After completing her studies, she returned to Cyprus in 1961 and worked for many years as an art teacher in secondary education.

Stephanidou was one of the leading figures of the Cypriot modernist movement in the second half of the twentieth century. Her early work reflected the influence of European modernism, including Cubism, geometric abstraction, Op Art and Minimalism. In 1972, she presented her first solo exhibition at Acropolis Gallery in Nicosia, showing works characterised by abstract geometric forms, clarity of structure and a refined exploration of colour, movement and space.

Following the events of 1974 in Cyprus, her work took on a more symbolic and expressive character. She began to introduce references to Greek history, mythology and the female figure, often using imagery associated with Aphrodite, Pentadaktylos and the experience of displacement, separation and memory. Through these works, she explored themes of identity, femininity, political trauma and the relationship between the individual and the wider historical landscape.

Her later work returned to abstraction while also incorporating motifs inspired by traditional handwork, tapestry and embroidery. These compositions brought together modernist structure and elements of Cypriot visual culture, creating a distinctive artistic language marked by vivid colour, rhythm and sensitivity of form.

Katy Stephanidou exhibited widely in Cyprus and abroad, including in Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Romania and Bulgaria. She also participated in important international exhibitions, including the Alexandria Biennale in 1963 and the São Paulo Biennale in 1971.

Works by Katy Stephanidou are held in significant public and private collections, including the State Gallery of Contemporary Cypriot Art, the Municipal Art Gallery of Limassol, the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation and the Loukia and Michael Zampelas Art Museum. She remains recognised as one of the pioneering women artists of Cyprus and an important representative of Cypriot modernism.