Marina Velisioti
(b. Thessaloniki, Greece)
Multidisciplinary Artist | Athens, Greece
Marina Velisioti is a multidisciplinary artist based in Athens, Greece. A graduate of the Department of Applied Arts at the School of Fine Arts in Thessaloniki, she further enriched her studies with courses in scenography, video art, and the psychological and psychoacoustic themes of music at the Theatre Department. Velisioti’s diverse practice integrates a variety of techniques and mediums, including collage, sculpture, tapestry, engraving, and both analogue and digital photo printing.
Her work explores complex themes of psychology, psychoacoustics, and the surreal worlds of science fiction and UFO culture. Drawing inspiration from the intersections of past and future, Velisioti’s latest series merges elements of ancient architecture, 1980s pop culture, and symbolic motifs into strange, dreamlike universes. Through vibrant symbolism and playful imagination, her works create an uncanny atmosphere, blurring the boundaries between reality and the fantastical.
A passionate scholar of UFOs, monsters, and speculative worlds, Velisioti distorts historical and cultural references to construct fantastical landscapes that feel both familiar and entirely alien. In addition to her visual work, she is the founder and former editor of Bebabebo, an art zine she published until 2013.
Velisioti’s exhibitions span across international venues, including solo shows and biennials, with notable recent presentations such as the 2024 solo exhibition Monuments to Space at Untiled Gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria, and participation in the 2023 Turkish Textile Biennial in Izmir. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Artist Fellowship.
Selected Exhibitions:
- 2024: Monuments to Space, Untiled Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria (Solo Show)
- 2024: Hate Hard Boiled Eggs, Misc, Athens (Publication/Solo Show)
- 2023: Outraged by Pleasure, Nobel Building, Athens
- 2023: Turkish Textile Biennial, Izmir, Turkey
- 2023: Selasforos, Anoihta Pania, Chania, Crete
- 2022: Sheltered Gardens, Commission by PCAI Polygreen, Diomedes Botanical Garden, Athens
- 2021: Thessaloniki Film Festival, The Rules of the Game, Thessaloniki Harbor
- 2021: Head2Head, A Project by A-dash, Athens / Kling&bang, Reykjavik
- 2020: Cra(u)sh or How to Make Me Kiss the Pavement, Group Show, Grace, Athens
- 2019: ΗΛΕΚΡΙΣ / How to Think Like a Mountain, Samothraki, Greece
- 2018: Matter Over Matter, Goethe Institut, Sofia, Bulgaria
- 2018: Suddenly There's A Valley, In-situ Installation, Dimitra Danika Hair Salon, Athens
- 2014: Nature Immortelle, Solo Show, Romantso, Athens
Awards & Fellowships:
- 2022: Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Artist Fellowship