The Biennale di Larnaka 2025 brings to the stage a lively dialogue between memory, belonging, and urban transformation.
The installations scattered throughout the Cypriot city invite the public to rediscover historical places and traditional architectures through an experimental artistic language.
Biennale Larnaka 2025: installations that redefine the urban space
One of the most surprising works welcomes visitors already outside the municipal museum of historical archives, where an orange and white inflatable structure envelops the balcony with imposing spikes that reach towards the sky.
The intervention, with a strong visual impact, transforms the facade into a living and pulsating organism. The work seems to want to challenge the idea of a boundary between inside and outside, tradition and modernity, offering a symbol of the energy that today crosses the Cypriot artistic scene.
“Metasynthesis”: the thread of memory
Within one of the exhibition venues stands out the project “Metasynthesis: Threads of Memory and Belonging” by the Cypriot artist Michalis Pantelidis, created with digital print on silk. The work explores the intimate dimension of memory and the sense of belonging through delicate materials and a visual language that blends text and image.
Another interesting work is that of Elizabeth Sofia Rigby, whose installations feature repeated calligraphic signs, almost a personal alphabet, along with videos and observation tools that refer to the act of study and research. Rigby thus constructs a landscape of memory, where writing becomes fabric, and time layers in a continuous dialogue between past and present.
Japanese contemporary art on display in Larnaka
Jun’ichiro Ishii is a Japanese artist based in Kyoto, born in Fukuoka.
His practice explores the concept of cultural identity and threshold: for example, in the work “One day Cyprus / A Cyprus Yet to Come” he presents a large plate with figures wearing a single garment — an image that reflects on the contradictions of Cypriot history.
His conceptual approach combines installation, objects with strong symbolic value, and reflection on space: the artist suggests that «art is not only for individual expression, but for the celebration of life and a shared humanity».
In the Biennale of Larnaka, the presence of Ishii enriches the dialogue between cultures and historical contexts, offering a vision that unites Japan, Cyprus, and global connections in contemporaneity.
EWNS from the States
Katrin Schnabl is an artist, designer, and educator of German origin, based in the United States (Chicago). Her background is a mix of dance, fashion, and installation.
In her work “EWNS” she used various fabrics to explore the relationship between body, movement, and environment.
Its practice is situated at the boundary between performance, attire, and exhibition space, and in its installations, it invites the viewer to reflect on how the body occupies space, on the interaction between subject and environment. Included in the Biennale, its work offers a contribution that combines aesthetics, material, and socio-environmental reflection.
In Larnaka also Ottersen
Liv Ingeborg Ottersen is a Norwegian artist who offers interactive installations and works that explore geometric motifs, female craftsmanship, and historical patterns.
In a context of the Biennale of Larnaka, it was highlighted with an installation made of colored tulle strips on which visitors are invited to tie written messages, generating participation and transformation of the public space.
His expressive language emphasizes collective practices, material memory, and visual textuality: elements that expand the experience of the event and engage the audience.
Between tradition and experimentation
The Biennale of Larnaka 2025 stands out for its ability to integrate contemporary art into the urban fabric without distorting its identity. The installations are not mere decorations, but conceptual interventions that question the viewer: what does it mean to belong to a place? Which shared memories withstand time and change?
Each work thus becomes a stage of a widespread path that crosses the city, stimulating reflection on the relationship between space, community, and cultural identity.
Biennale Larnaka 2025: an artistic crossroads in the Mediterranean
With this edition, the Biennale reaffirms its international vocation and the desire to create a dialogue between local and foreign artists. The exhibited works, although different in language and technique, share the intent of giving shape to a collective thought, where art and daily life meet in a direct and accessible way.
The Biennale di Larnaka 2025 presents itself as a mosaic of visions that narrate a dynamic, aware, and future-open Cyprus. Through installations that combine visual experimentation and conceptual depth, the event invites the public to actively participate in a broader reflection: how can contemporary art contribute to rebuilding the sense of community in a world in constant transformation?
Signs of growth in the Cypriot art market
The launch of the international fair VIMA Art Fair in Limassol (from May 16 to 18, 2025) is recent, the first of its kind on the island.
In the first edition, 27 galleries participated and about 100 artists from over 20 countries were present. The works for sale were estimated in a range from ~€800 to ~€80,000 during the fair.
The number of galleries on the island is considerable: according to an updated database, there are 134 registered galleries as of May 2025, while the public system, like the “state collection” of Cyprus, indicates that by 2024 the State has acquired 72 works in the year, contributing to creating infrastructure and presence of contemporary art.
Challenges and limits
Despite the signals, there is a lack of large-scale data on the trend of the quotations of Cypriot artists and on the overall volume of the local art market.
Macroeconomic indicators show that the imports of “Works of art, collectibles, and antiques” in Cyprus are 287,000 thousand EUR (approximately) for December 2024, a monthly figure that is far from the peaks of the past.
From the UBS report on the global art market, it emerges that the “Contemporary” segment is experiencing a phase of contraction: for example, in 2024 the value of sales in that global segment fell by about 36% compared to the peak.
Implications for the Biennale of Larnaka 2025 and the local market
The presence of the Biennale of Larnaka and the birth of the VIMA Art Fair indicate that Cyprus is taking on a more visible role as a platform for contemporary art in the Mediterranean.
The fact that works have already been sold for up to ~€80,000 in Cyprus (in the context of VIMA) suggests that some segments of the local market are developing and attracting mid-to-high level collectors.
However, the lack of systematic data and an established market history means that for many local artists, the quotations are still on the rise and with high risk margins compared to more mature markets (London, New York, etc.).
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
