Kostas AVERKIOU was born in Psimolophou, in the Nicosia district of Cyprus, in 1917 and died in Nicosia in October 1981.

After completing primary school, he worked as a carpenter with his father. In 1945, he established his own workshop in Nicosia, where he worked as a sign-maker and designer of commercial posters. He also used this workshop as a studio for painting and engraving, developing his artistic practice alongside his professional work.

Averkiou was a self-taught painter and engraver. He worked in oil painting and woodcut, the latter of which he learned from Telemachos Kanthos. By the late 1950s, he had become recognised as an accomplished engraver, and his work was presented in solo and group exhibitions in Cyprus and abroad.

His work is closely connected with Cypriot life, landscape and social experience. His paintings and engravings often depict village scenes, workers, trees, landscapes, historical subjects and figures from everyday life. Following the events of 1974 in Cyprus, his engravings also addressed themes of displacement, loss and collective memory.

Averkiou’s artistic language is characterised by directness, expressive line and strong compositional structure. In his woodcuts, he achieved a powerful contrast between light and dark, creating images of emotional intensity and graphic clarity. His paintings reveal a sensitive approach to colour, form and the atmosphere of the Cypriot landscape.

Kostas Averkiou participated in exhibitions in Cyprus and abroad and represented Cyprus at the Venice Biennale in 1972. He remains recognised as an important Cypriot artist whose work contributed significantly to the development of painting and engraving in Cyprus.