
Maro participated as a Visual Arts Fellow for AVR3 (November 2020). Click here to see Maro’s program.
Maro also participated as a Visual Arts Fellow for NOLA/NYCBX Research Fellowship (Spring 2023). Click here to see Maro’s program.
Born and raised in Athens, dividing her life between Greece and France, Maro Michalakakos became known through a substantial body of work in which figures and themes emerge in a state of tension. Woven of family memories and cultural references, her universe is more given to creations on the edge of dreams, filled with an apparent calm, intentionally positioned midway between reality and the imaginary dimension. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece, Europe, USA and Turkey and has repeatedly collaborated with important theatrical directors and Institutions for the creation of stage environments (National Theater, Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Onassis Stegi, Poreia Theater). Many of her works have been acquired by significant public and private collections (Fonds Nationale d’art Contemporain, Istanbul Modern, D.Daskalopoulos collection etc)
“I am exploring the relationship between life and death; the way in which awareness of the inevitability of the end, of individual finiteness but also of the collective cycle of life, resonates in the perception and ultimately, in the quality of human life. maromichalakakos.com
The perception we have of our finiteness changes with age. My work evolves in this same rhythm.
I use scalpels to shave velvet. I can see the end. I’m forced to stop by the weft of the fabric. I paint birds. Birds have the power to fly and scratch without guilt. Are these powers the conditions of freedom? The connection between scalpels and talons is evident.”
Maro Michalakakos