Electra Varnava was born on July 20, 1988, in Limassol, Cyprus.
She graduated from the Department of Visual and Applied Arts at the School of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2006–2011), where she studied on a scholarship awarded by the Cyprus State Scholarship Foundation (IKY).
She has participated in various group exhibitions, including the 15th Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean – Symbiosis, and has received several awards in art competitions both in Cyprus and abroad.

At the age of ten, she began attending private art lessons in Limassol. Encouraged by her mother, she started participating in art competitions, earning numerous distinctions. One of the most significant early milestones in her artistic journey came in 2002, when she won a trip to Rome through a youth art competition organized by the Youth Board of Cyprus, at just 14 years old. This was her first competition and marked the beginning of her artistic path. In the same year, she won first place in the Agros Youth Art Competition. Within two years (2004), she earned distinctions in a European art contest, and later that year, she won first prize at the art competition organized by the Cultural Movement “Epilogi” in Limassol. In 2005, she received third place in a national Greek competition, and in 2006 she won third place in the Cyprus Anti-Drugs Poster Contest, as well as first place once again at the “Epilogi” Art Competition. Ιn October 2015, she participated in the VERA World Fine Art Festival in Lisbon, where she received an award in drawing for her “Diligence and Professionalism.”

Her first participation in a (student) group exhibition was in 2005, at the age of 17, where 50% of the proceeds were donated to charity. Notably, the Minister of Justice and Public Order attended the event and purchased one of her paintings.

During her university years, Electra took part in several group exhibitions, including the 15th Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean – Symbiosis.
After graduating in 2011, she returned to Cyprus and established her own studio. She also guided many students in preparing their portfolios and gaining admission to art universities of their choice. While teaching, she continued to explore her own artistic identity. Her love for the harmony of nature, combined with her emphasis on proportion and structure in drawing, drew her closer to realism — a style for which she developed a deep appreciation.

Her first solo exhibition, titled “ART VS CULTURE,” was held at Rouan Gallery in Limassol in 2014, where she presented a series of pencil drawings. As she describes it:

“The emotions my works can evoke in people are what matter most to me. I don’t place particular emphasis on the subject itself and I refuse to be considered ‘conceptual.’ I want the average viewer to understand my work and not leave feeling confused. Some of my pieces may appear overly controlled due to their realistic approach, but the creative process is exactly the opposite. My drawings begin as a series of lines and smudges that I blur or erase by hand until they gradually take shape. My ease with the pencil comes from sharp observation and from learning to value the abstract. My pencils are as important to my process as my erasers. Pencil is the most economical medium — yet also one that can easily be underestimated. The subtlety it allows and the sharpness of the final result drew me toward it. It imposes no real cost on the artist but carries the emotional cost of creation. I don’t draw realistically to create an illusion of reality; I embrace a modern approach — using the real as a tool for creation, not for concealing art.” (2014)

Her second solo exhibition, titled “Atαξία – (P)HAOS,” was held in December 2025 at Rouan Gallery in Limassol. In this body of work, she explored the balance between order and disorder, as well as the relationship between the visible and the unseen. Focusing on the human figure, her drawings continue to evolve through a process that combines observation with intuition, allowing each work to emerge gradually through layering, erasing, and redefining form. Through this approach, realism becomes a tool not only for representation, but for expressing inner states and personal experience.