Eleni Maragaki is focused in her practice on bridging the dichotomy between urban construction and the natural environment. For her, architecture is in constant dialogue with the landscape. As a response to the densely manufactured urban space, Eleni Maragaki is inspired by the delicacy found in the system of natural structures.
Deconstruction of the landscape through abstract geometric forms
In her works, the element of deconstruction of the landscape through abstract geometric forms encompasses the conflicts between the city and the surrounding natural world. The components of the urban landscape, being human made and artificial, are symbolically depicted as strict shapes that alter and deform the natural in a similar way as cities disrupt the continuity of the landscape.
Research informing practice
“Compartmentalisation, seriality, close observation and categorization are integral to my methodology. The visualisation of the theoretical research is of equal importance with the practical aspect of my art. My process involves continuous tests, trials and errors through the creation of large-scale drawings, which I consider part of the final work.”
Interactive artworks
Eleni Maragaki has created innovation in her work by encouraging audience engagement.
Her landscape puzzles provide a space to test out the dynamics between the human element, geometry, and nature, challenging the relationship between all three.
It is an element she has been exploring continuously though the creation of interactive artworks as well as by pursuing commissions on the public realm. For Eleni, the notion of ‘play’ creates a collective environment around a table where interaction is key.
Eleni Maragaki
Eleni Maragaki was born in Athens, Greece. She studied Painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (2013-2018) and MA Fine Art in Central Saint Martins, UAL (2020-2022), with distinction, as a recipient of the Mona Hatoum Bursaries Award. Eleni is the winner of the Muse Residency Award and the Tate Christmas Card Competition. She has taken part in numerous exhibitions including a screening in LUX Moving Image, London and a group show in the Art Station Dubulti, Latvia. Her latest project was a public commission for a light installation by Stavros Niarchos Foundation. She is also a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. While at UAL, Eleni undertook a residency at Mahler and Lewitt Studios, Spoleto, and showed some of her results in our GroundWork exhibition Art for the Environment in 2023.
