Bio
Maria Mavropoulou (b. 1989) is a visual artist living and working in Athens, Greece. Her research-driven practice unfolds through image-based media including photography, screen-captured images, AI-generated imagery, archival material, and painting. She focuses on the realities produced by technological systems, examining how images are made, circulated, and consumed today in order to question how technological mediation reshapes perception, identity, and our understanding of the world.
Her recent works explore digital representation in the post-social media era, algorithmic bias, network culture, and the shifting power dynamics between humans and machines. She is particularly interested in how contemporary technologies reorganize knowledge and influence what becomes visible and what is gradually forgotten. Recent projects have linked artificial intelligence to the mystical and the divine, while also reflecting on the future of photography in an age increasingly shaped by synthetic images.
Currently, her research centers on how systems of image-making shape memory and cultural production. Working across photography, archives, AI-generated imagery, and installation, she examines moments when technologies designed to preserve reality begin instead to obscure it. She is especially concerned with artificial intelligence as a dominant mechanism of accumulation and redistribution of cultural data, and with phenomena such as model collapse, where the performance of systems trained on their own outputs gradually degrades. Through this lens, she investigates how growing dependence on algorithmic systems affects the ways knowledge is preserved and accessed, and how AI mediation may contribute to a cultural “monoculture.”
Maria holds a Master’s in Fine Arts and a BA from the Athens School of Fine Arts. Her work is presented at König Gallery in Berlin and is part of private collections and Vontobel art collection. She has exhibited in institutions and museums in Greece and abroad among which are Images Vevey festival (Switzerland 2024) FOAM Amsterdam (2024), the National Museum of Contemporary Art of Greece- EMST (2023), MAST Foundation (Italy 2023) Sharjah Foundation (United Arab Emirates 2022), Foto Colectania, (Spain 2022), Tallinn Art Hall, (Estonia 2021), Miami Art week, (2020), 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival(2019), Thessaloniki Museum of Photography(2019), Onassis cultural center (2019), Athens Conservatoire(2019), Slought Foundation (Philadelphia, USA 2019), Maison de la Photographie, (France 2018), Benaki museum(2018), Unseen Amsterdam, (Netherlands 2018) National Observatory of Athens (2018), Culturescapes festival (Basel, Switzerland, 2017) Athens Photo Festival (2016), Athens Biennale (2015) Mois de la photo,(Paris, France, 2014). Her first VR project Family Portraits has been awarded at the 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (2019), and she has also been selected among 30 Under 30 Women Photographers (2018) and a Young Greek Photographer by Athens Photo Festival (2016)
Maria Mavropoulou also works as a contributing photographer for the New York Times covering topics about tech.
CV
education
2016 - 2018 Master in Fine Arts, Athens School of Fine Arts
2009 - 2014 Athens School of Fine Arts
grants
2023 / OpenAI Artist Spotlight
2022 / MAST Foundation Photography Grant on Industry and Work
2019 /2020 SNF Artist Fellowship Award
awards
2022 / MAST Foundation Photography Grant on Industry and Work, finalist
2021 / Vonovia Award for Photography 2021, finalist
2020 / International Photography Grant, talent of the year 2020, nominee
2019 / Special Mention award for the Vr project ‘Family Portraits” at the 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival
2018 / 30 Under 30 Women Photographers 2018
2016 / Young Greek Photographer, Athens Photo Festival 2016
workshops - lectures
Upcoming - 2,3,4 /03/ 2026 Athens Photo Research Center,
2025 Workshop on AI & Photography at Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece
2025 Lecture at ASFA Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece
2024 Roundtable discussion at Onassis Foundation
2024 Lecture at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
2024 Workshop on AI & Photography at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, Germany
2024 Lecture at ASFA Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece
2024 Lecture at Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center
2023 Week-long workshop AI & Photography at EKA Estonian Academy of Arts
2023 Lecture to Princeton class, Athens, Greece
2023 Presentation at EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
2023 Workshop at EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
2022 Presentation at ASFA Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece
collections
private collections
MAST collection
solo shows
2025 Model Collapse, Archaeological Museum of Eretria, Greece
2024 Showroom Presentation at Koenig Gallery, Berlin, Germany
selected group exhibitions
(Upcoming 11/07/2026 - 23/08/2026) A Hollow Garden at Afterimage:Photography in the Digital World, Photo Museum Ireland
(Upcoming 05/03/2026- 02/04/2026) Ecologies of Noise at Collapse: data.models.worlds, Saigon.Athens, Greece
2025 Family portraits at Nordwestdeutsche Museum für IndustrieKultur in Delmenhorst, Germany
2025 Imagined Images at European Photography Month in Tokyo, Japan
2025 8,5 Faces at Absolute Approximation exhibition, Berlin, Germany
2025 The Sleight of the Machine at Plasmata 3, by Onassis Stegi, Pedion tou Areos Park, Athens, Greece
2025 Imagined Images at Gjon Mili biennale, She who starts the song, National Gallery of Kosovo
2024 In their own Image at Reimagine Tomorrow, AI Biennale, Essen, Germany
2024 Family Portraits at Acces)s( festival , Le Bel Ordinaire, Billere, France
2024 Imagined Images at Θεσμίζειν , EIGHT, Athens
2024 Family Portraits at BE.LIKE.ME , Ausstellung, Erfurt, Germany
2024 Image Eaters at La Nuu festival, Rubi, Spain
2024 In their own Image at Art Athina with MISC, Athens, Greece
2024 Imagined Images at Images Vevey festival, Vevey, Switzerland
2024 Imagined Images at the Citizen Office of Synthetic Memories, Design Museum of Barcelona, Spain
2024 Imagined Images at “Her Stories” MOMUS Thessaloniki, Greece
2024 Imagined Images at Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
2024 In their own image and A self-portrait of an Algorithm at “Missing Mirror” FOAM Amsterdam, NL
2024 Imagined Images “Photography never lies” BACC Bangkok, Thailand
2024 Family portraits at “Home sweet home” Frankfurt, Germany
2024 Imagined Images at “And all our world is dew” DEERE The American College of Greece, Athens
2024 "Photography saved my life” at Crux Galerie, Athens, Greece
2024 Imagined Images at Familiar Frontiers, SVA, New York, USA
2024/ A hollow garden at An Erratic Storm: Reaching Out to the Infinite, Alkinois, Athens, Greece
2023 SINDBAD: I Can See Land, Sharbatly, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2023 “Imagined Images” Photo Vogue Festival, Uncanny Atlas: Image in the Age of A.I. curated by Chiara Bardelli-Nonino, BASE, Milano, Italy
2023 “Family Portraits” Modern Love, curated by Katerina Gregos, National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), Athens, Greece
2023 “In their own Image” MAST Foundation for Photography Grant on Industry and Work, curated by Urs Stahel, Bologna, Italy
2023 “A self-portrait of an Algorithm” Frequency Festival, Lincoln, UK
2023, “A hollow Garden” Visage(s) d’Europe, Fête de l'Europe, Paris, France
2022 / ART-WORKS @ Delta Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Athens, Greece
2022 “A hollow Garden” Ground Control, curated by Laura Tota, Cavallerizza Reale, Turin, Italy
2022 “Family Portraits” Vantage Point Sharjah (VPS), Sharjah Foundation, Al Hamriyah Studios, United Arab Emirates
2022 “Family Portraits” Vonovia Award for Photography exhibition, Sprengel Museum in Hanover, Germany
2022 “A hollow Garden”Ground Control exhibition, curated by Laura Tota, Locorotondo, Puglia, Italy
2022 “Family Portraits” Athens Photo Festival, Benaki museum, Athens, Greece
2022, “A hollow Garden” Visage(s) d’Europe, Fête de l'Europe, Paris, France
2022, “Tears Spit & Cum” The Root, , Amphicar Studio, Athens, Greece
2022, “A hollow Garden” Presence, PhMuseum Lab, Bologna, Italy
2022, New Talents 2021, curated by PEP, Kommunale Galerie, Berlin
2022, Face Control, curated by Urs Stahel, Foto Colectania, Barcelona, Spain
2022, “Family Portraits” Modern Love , curated by Katerina Gregos, IMPAKT Utrecht, The Netherlands
2021, “Image Eaters” Her Data, curated by Foteini Vergidou & Katerina Gkoutziouli, Romantso, Athens, Greece
2021 / “Tears Spit & Cum”Ammophila-Under the Burning Sun, curated by Evi Roumani, Elafonisos island, Greece
2021 / Periplus, Schloss Wolkersdorf, Vienna, Austria
2021 / “Family Portraits” Modern Love (or Love in the Age of Cold Intimacies) curated by Katerina Gregos, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia.
2021 / Connections, Klan Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2020- 2021 /“Family Portraits” Modern Love (or Love in the Age of Cold Intimacies) curated by Katerina Gregos, Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg, Germany.
2020/ “Family Portraits” Loading Festival at Miami Art week curated by Carolina Kleine Samson, Mana Contemporary, Miami, USA.
2019 / “Family Portraits” 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, VR section, Warehouse 1, Thessaloniki, Greece.
2019 / «13,700,000 km3», curated by Katerina Gregos, Art Space Pythagorion, Samos, Greece.
2019 / “Inner Sate”Young Greek Photographers 2010-2018, curated by Manolis Moresopoulos, Thessaloniki Museum of Photography.
2019 /“Family Portraits” Forever more images?, curated by Eduardo Cadava, Yorgos Karailias, Yorgos Prinos, Pasqua Vorgia, Onassis cultural center, Athens, Greece.
2019 / Anatomy of Political Melancholy ||, curated by Katerina Gregos, Athens Conservatoire, Greece.
2019 / “Inner Sate” Photography in Crisis, Slought Foundation, Philadelphia, USA.
2019 / “Family Portraits” Graduates 2014-2017, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens, Greece.
2018 / 30 Under 30 Women Photographers 2018, Maison de la Photographie Lille, France.
2018 / Photo-Graphē, Benaki museum Athens, Greece.
2018 / 30 Under 30 Women Photographers 2018, Galerie Claude Samuel, Paris, France.
2018 /“Inner Sate” Unseen Amsterdam’s CO-OP, curated by Lars Willumeit, Depression Era collective, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2018 / “Family Portraits” Degree Show, Master in Fine Arts, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens, Greece.
2018 / “Family Portraits” Cosmonauts of Inner Space, National Observatory of Athens, curated by Spyros Verykios, Athens, Greece.
2018 / “Family Portraits” Open Studios, Master in Fine Arts, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens, Greece. (exhibition catalog)
2018 / “Family Portraits” Athens Photo Scratch, curated by Elena Kollatou & Leonidas Toumpanos, Vrissaki art Space, Athens, Greece.
2018 / Young Art Historians propose Young Artists, Trii Art Hub, Athens, Greece.
2017 / "The Vision of Saint Void", Depo Darm Gallery, curated by Kiriakos Spirou, Athens, Greece.
2017 / "The Decline of Heroes", ''The Tourists'' campaign by Depression Era, Culturescapes festival, curated by Kateryna Botanova, Antikenmuseum Basel, Switzerland.
2017 / “Inner Sate” Local Stories, DL gallery, curated by Nina Kassianou, Athens, Greece.
2017 / Taking Roots, 58th International Film Festival of Thessaloniki, curated by Orestis Andreadakis, Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, (Former Army Warehouse), Thessaloniki, Greece.
2017 / “Inner Sate” Make Yourselves at Home, public space campaign by Depression Era, Athens, Greece.
2017 / Found & Lost a group show curated by Void, Float gallery, Athens, Greece.
2017 / Open Studios, Master in Fine Arts, Athens School of Fine Arts, part of Documenta 14 inauguration program, Athens, Greece.
2017 / And the Work of Our Hands, the ArtWall, curated by Kiriakos Spirou, Athens, Greece.
2017 / Whitelight showcase, SHED London, curated by Ellie Tsatsou & Gelly Siganou, London, U.K.
2016 / “Inner Sate” Young Greek Photographers Athens Photo Festival, curated by Manolis Moresopoulos, Benaki museum, Athens, Greece.
2016 / A Process 2.0, Krakow Photomonth, curated by Der Greif, Krakow, Poland.
2016 / Back to Athens, curated by Maria Xypolopoulou, multiple venues at Exarchia, Athens, Greece.
2015 / Athens Biennale 5to6, curated by Xenia Kalpaktsoglou & Poka-Yio, Bageion hotel, Athens, Greece.
2015 / 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Depression Era, curated by Katerina Gregos, Thessaloniki, Greece.
2014 / Depression Era project, Benaki museum, Athens, Greece.
2014 / Depression Era project, Mois de la photo, Central Dupon, Paris, France.
2014 / Depression Era project European Month of Photography, Fotóhónap, Budapest, Hungary.
2014 / Depression Era project Fotoistabul, Istanbul, Turkey.
2014 / Studios curated by Christina Dilari, Yalena Kleidara, Iphigeneia Papamikroulea, metamatic: taf, Athens, Greece.
2014 / Wear and Tear(?) curated by Vana Verroiopoulou, metamatic: taf, Athens, Greece.
2014 / Biennale of Schools of Fine Arts of Greece, B & M Theocharakis Foundation, Athens, Greece