An Interview with Eleni Maragaki: Visual Artist & Highly Commended Artist of the VAA’s Artist of the Year Awards
Eleni Maragaki – Artist Feature – VAA Member of the Month June 2025
Eleni Maragaki is a visual artist from in Athens, Greece, now based in London, and a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. She studied Painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts and went on to earn an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, supported by the Mona Hatoum Bursaries Award.
Eleni has exhibited her work internationally, with highlights including a screening at LUX Moving Image (London), a group show at Art Station Dubulti (Latvia), and participation in the Shijiazhuang Youth Art Biennale (Hebei, China).
In 2023, Eleni achieved notable success, winning the Tate Christmas Card Competition, receiving the Muse Gallery Residency Award, and being selected as a finalist for the First Plinth: Public Art Award. One of her recent projects includes a public light installation commissioned by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
She has also taken part in several artist residencies, such as Mahler & LeWitt Studios in Spoleto, Italy, and WIP Space in London.
Eleni’s practice explores the intersection of urban construction and the natural environment. Using abstract geometric forms, she deconstructs the landscape, symbolizing the tension between human-made structures and the organic world. The rigid, artificial shapes in her work reflect how cities disrupt the continuity and harmony of natural landscapes.
Increasingly, she has been exploring audience engagement through interactive artworks and public commissions. Her landscape puzzles offer a playful, participatory space where viewers can examine the relationship between humans, geometry, and nature. By incorporating the element of ‘play,’ Eleni fosters a collective, interactive experience that brings people together around shared exploration and dialogue.
To learn more about her work, head to her website: https://elenimaragaki.com/ and follow her Instagram:
“For me, architecture is in a constant dialogue with the landscape. I am inspired by the delicacy found in the system of natural structures.”
My creative process begins with quiet observation through several walking trips with the purpose of exploring new landscapes and ecologies. The method I follow for initial ideas of potential sculptures involves visualizing my research in an abstract and exploratory way through my drawing practice, without worrying about form or outcome. I translate these impressions into technical drawings, which service as an intuitive and open-ended form of research.
From there, my artistic process is characterized by meticulous planning, involving continuous tests, trials, and errors to achieve precision and accuracy in my final works, often resembling manufactured results. I begin material testing and prototyping, using paper or MDF to explore scale and structure. This part of the process is iterative and hands-on, full of small adjustments and experiments until the final form begins to emerge. I find interest in balancing these two aspects of my practice: an ongoing negotiation between control and imperfection, calculation and instinct.
My practice is guided by an outlook of openness and adaptability. I have learned to embrace unpredictability and to allow my materials, environments, and audience interactions to inform the work just as much as my original concept or intention. I am also deeply committed to ecological awareness, and I view my work as a thoughtful response to the fragile and ever-changing relationship between the built and natural world. I believe that art has the potential to subtly shift perspectives, encouraging deeper thought and sensitivity. Through my practice, I aim to create moments of reflection and meaningful connection with the audience.
What is your creative process? What outlook guides you?
What is your definition of artistic success?
For me, artistic success lies in the ability to maintain sustainable practices whilst remaining true to my creative values. Recognition and visibility are both validating, but it’s also about finding environments that are receptive to artistic thinking and allow dialogue, experimentation, and growth. The last four years, being in London, have deeply shaped this view, as I have become part of a critical and diverse creative community.
“Success, in this context, means evolving my practice without losing sight of my original intent.”
One of the accomplishments I am most proud of is the creation of a large-scale light installation titled ‘Pompe’ in 2022, commissioned by the Stavros Niarchos Park in Athens. The project involved a highly competitive selection process and pushed me to expand my technical knowledge and problem-solving skills. The experience of working at such a scale in a public space was challenging and rewarding, as it required me to translate conceptual ideas into a tangible, immersive experience for a broad audience.
I am equally proud of successfully exhibiting my interactive works, particularly the landscape puzzles, which challenge conventional ways of experiencing contemporary art. These pieces invite touch, play, and collaboration, activating the artwork through audience participation. As someone who values the physical, handmade aspects of art-making, it is intriguing to create work that encourages a direct, tactile connection.
Other highlights include: My upcoming residency in China (NY20+, Sichuan), being a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, my solo show at the Muse Gallery which will take place in September 2025, presenting my work at the Affordable Art Fair and being shortlisted as a finalist for the VAA Artist of the Year Award.
“These accomplishments are allowing me to explore the art community, create an extensive and cohesive body of work across multiple media, share my practice with a large and diverse commercial audience, and situate my work within prestigious networks.”
The past year has been especially formative and rewarding for my practice. I’ve completed a three-month residency at WIP Space in London, where I hosted a solo show and led a bookmaking workshop.
Furthermore, being commissioned to create a hand-carved and hand-painted chess board by Purling, an art-led luxury games company known for its collaborations with contemporary artists, has allowed me to merge fine craftsmanship with conceptual thinking in a functional art object.
In the past 12 months, I also exhibited in notable shows, including the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) Annual Exhibition and Wells Art Contemporary at Wells Cathedral, both of which offered valuable exposure and curatorial dialogue. Being a finalist for the Hari Art Prize and shortlisted for the VAA Award were further affirmations of the growth and resonance of my work over the past year.
What are some of the accomplishments you are most proud of? What are some of the highlights from the past 12 months?
What are the biggest obstacles you’ve faced when improving your arts profession? What’s the one piece of advice that has helped you the most?
One of the challenges I have encountered has been finding the right balance between visual aesthetics and conceptual clarity. The themes I explore, such as the tensions between the natural world and human-made environments, are often abstract, and not always immediately accessible. It is also difficult to compete for attention in a saturated art world where environmental issues can be overshadowed by other urgent global concerns.
However, over time, through experience, audience interaction, and exhibiting in more diverse contexts, I’ve learned how to trust both my process and my viewers. Rather than trying to control interpretation, I now embrace the multiplicity of responses that my work can evoke. I have come to see this openness not as a limitation but as a strength, as each viewer brings their own perspective. While the art world remains competitive, I have developed a more confident and flexible mindset, and I see these obstacles as opportunities to evolve, connect, and adapt without compromising the integrity of my vision.
I’ve learned to not take rejection personally and stay persistent. In an industry where opportunities are limited and the competition is extremely high; it is very easy to become disheartened and experience disappointment on a regular basis. I have learned, however, that rejection is not a reflection of the value or potential of my work. Each “no” can eventually lead to a “yes” in a better context or at a more suitable time. The key is to keep showing up, keep sharing your work, and continue creating no matter what.
“Consistency, belief in your vision, and resilience are essential.”
My focus is on expanding my presence in different parts of the world through artistic residencies and collaborations. I know these are crucial to my development, offering time, space and new contexts in which to grow. Residencies that I’m most excited about involve engagement with landscapes and local communities, as they mirror my core concerns of my practice. Connecting with new cultures and artistic ecosystems helps me refine my approach and build meaningful networks beyond geographical boundaries. I want to deepen these connections, explore new territories, and continue pushing my work into both public and private spheres.
Creatively, I find great interest in working both by developing small scale objects, and large-scale work, like my light installation Pompe commissioned by the Stavros Niarchos Park (Athens, Greece, 2022). I have always felt that there is a unique energy that emerges when shifting between small-scale and large-scale work. Developing intimate objects in the studio is a meditative and introspective process that allows me to focus on the precision and sensitivity of handmaking. In contrast, working on large-scale installations requires a more extroverted mindset, as these works are about creating environments and experiences that the public can inhabit and interact with. Maintaining a balance between these two different methods of working would constitute an ideal creative goal.
Having recently joined the VAA; I already feel the benefits of being part of a supportive and professional artistic network. The increased visibility that has come with being shortlisted for the VAA Award has helped bring new attention and interest to my work, opening new and exciting opportunities. I appreciate the strong sense of community that the VAA fosters among its members, as well as the encouragement to grow and connect. I am looking forward to becoming more involved with VAA activities and continuing to build relationships within this inspiring and engaged network of creative professionals.
What Career Goal is your current priority? How has the VAA helped your journey so far?
Is there anything you would like to say to the artist you were a year ago?
Rather than speak to the artist I was a year ago, I would speak to my younger self, the one just beginning her studies in Fine Art. I have always been future-oriented, which at times has made it difficult to stay grounded in the present. Therefore, I would advice myself not to worry too much and instead focus on enjoying the process, stay playful, and appreciate the value of mistakes in the process of making. I would say to myself not to be afraid to take risks, to experiment more boldly, and to follow my own pace. Looking back, even the moments that felt uncertain or unproductive were quietly shaping the artist I am today, even if it didn’t feel that way at the time.