Kleoniki Maragkou
Kleoniki Maragou is a Greek artist known for her contemporary abstract works. She was born in Constantinople. At a young age together with her family she moved to Athens where she studied in the Ahens Shool of Fine Art in A’ Painting workshop run by Dimitris Mytaras. Her professors were also Arvanitis Zacharias, Angelos Antonopoulos and Dimitris Koukos.
She also studied
Academic Work
2003-2009 Fine Arts, BSc., School of Fine Arts at the University of Athens
2006-2007 Art & .com, School of Fine Arts at the University Athens
2004-2005 Mosaics, School of Fine Arts at the University Athens
2003-2004 Painting of icons, School of Fine Arts at the University Athens
1976-1980 Political Sciences, School of Law at the University of Athens
Solo Exhibitions
2013 Gallery PRISMA Piraeus-Greece
2012 Gallery KENT Constantinople’s Turkey
2006 County House of Molfetta, Italy
2005 Hilton Hotel, Rhodes-Greece
2004 Roumani Hotel, Spetses-Greece
Group Exhibitions
14 June 2016 ATHENS MATTERS Too (Art Zone)
16 June 2016 << Refrugee and Migrant Crisis>> Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, Athens, Greece .
26-29 May 2016 Art Athena International Contemporary Art Fair of Athens (Gallery Binyil).
27 May 2016 Human, Colors + Iron 9 Factory Kahramanoglou Keratzini (EETE ).
4-12 December 2015 Greece Foundation for International Recession and peace (E.E.Δ.Υ.Ε)
2015 6th Beijing International Art Biennale, National Art Museum of China.
2014 Visual Arts and Resistance (1936-2014) Picture Gallery with Ε.Ε.Τ.Ε
2014 Reference to Niko Kazantzakis Gazi Festival, Curator Chrisoula Skempeci
2014 In honor of Dominico Theotokopoulos Gallery Titanioum.
2013 Greek Contemporary Art in Sanghai.
2013 The color Of Violence (Unesco ) .
2011 ʺMy Houseʺ DIABASI/Technopolis, Gazi
2011 UNESCO, Zappeio
2011 ʺWith a drachma in Artʺ, Gallery TITANIOUM
2010 ʺWorld Poverty and Human Rightsʺ UNESCO/Technopolis/Gazi
2010 ʺKyteʺ, County House of Rethimno-Crete.
2009 ʺ50 years of Panathinaikosʺ, Gazi
2009 ʺThe human figure in Artʺ, Technopolis, Gazi
2009 ʺKiteʺ, County House of Athens
2009 ʺEnvironmentʺ, Evgenidio Foundation-Athens
2008 ʺRendez vous des Artʺ, Airport of Athens -Greece
2007 ʺRomaniʺ, Cultural Centre of Melina Merkouri-Athens
2006 ʺAngelsʺ, Gallery of Book-Athens
2006 ʺTrinemiaʺ, County House of Athens
2006 Gallery AION-Athens
2006 Gallery SKOUFA-Athens
2006 ʺ4ο European Social Forum, Airport of Athens-Greece
2006 Theater ALTERA PAR-Athens
2005 ʺPoetry in Picturesʺ, French Institute of Athens
2002 Gallery ELEMENT-Athens
2002 Gallery SKOUFA-Athens
2001 Gallery PLEIADES-Athens
2000 Vouliagmeni Nautical Club-Athens
While starting this rough sketch of my entire work in order to make its very essence understood, it is imperative to throw the light on the major role played by the meaningful process of my substantial, and definitely constructive ,academic studies.
As a matter of fact it is precisely this course that has enlightened the path towards my abstractionist research ,and has eventually lead to the personally figurative character of my work.
Among the fundamental requirements set in the progress of my painting, requirements which have built it up, thus giving shape to my personal writing, there can be found the synthesis of space , time and shapes within the balance ,harmony and variable weights of similar or heteroclite elements. The force of gesture plays a basic role , but so does the force of fortuitous elements that I am each time called to make mine and integrate in such way that will give birth to sounds, smells, tastes and memories , which I recompose into quiet, or not strong ,abstraction. What has almost become my work’s guideline is the opinion that the ‘’little is much…’’, a fundamental notion of abstraction , and not the ‘’what I will create…’’, but the ‘how I will create it…’. How I can give shape to strong sensations and memories, how I can give form to the invisible!
I consider that as the most difficult and challenging ‘’bet’’ for the artist as , within the scope of abstraction , he must confront extreme feeling and sensations , elements which cannot be grasped and that nobody can see , but only hear within. As a consequence, what becomes outstandingly difficult is the fact that the artist is called to give shape and matter to the immaterial, by the means of colour , but also of rhythm, through the gesture of moving his brush.
Thus ,within this whole process which becomes catalytic for the results of my entire work, balances , harmonies, the rhythms between tensions and silences and eventually melodies touching deep feelings are achieved.
At the same time , the different and rich writing characteristics , combined with the measuring of weight ,as the elements of space are concerned, lead to such environments as they almost cease to be deprived of energy, but give the impression of concrete images.
Like a puzzle which , once completed ,recalls for us a memory. The memory of situation , a sensation, a person, a smell ,taste or a space.
In the end, the inner wholeness that a work of art convey is never granted for all… But if it manages to touch even one of the above-mentioned , then we will keep the hope that maybe one day we will become better human beings.
Kleoniki Maragou