BedSheets

Maria Fragoudaki first exhibited paintings from the BedSheets series in 2016 at the Jewish Museum of Greece. Movement, color, and shapes are absorbed into the fabric and left to dry. The three-dimensional sculptural works below are also part of the BedSheets series, where the movement of fabric is frozen, evoking different types of beds and the relationships and experiences they hold. Beds, which cradle both sleep and emotions, are brought into material form. The audience is invited to explore different kinds of BedSheets—in other words, different aspects of human contact and experience.
What lies beneath the BedSheets? Is it absolute freedom or the pure subconscious?

Form/Less

The three-dimensional sculptural works in this series were first exhibited by Maria Fragoudaki in 2016 at the Jewish Museum of Greece. Inspired by the museum’s artifacts, the series shifts focus from color to material. Through direct interaction with materials, she seeks to uncover forms or ideas beyond their conventional purpose.

Viewers are often conditioned to perceive only certain dominant properties of an object. In this body of work, Fragoudaki uses the emotional impact of visual experience to reveal hidden forms and ideas. By engaging with and incorporating materials into her paintings, she uncovers unexpected characteristics and emotions—sometimes evident, sometimes surprising.

Circles series

In this series, Maria Fragoudaki utilizes materials such as feathers, rubber, and string to create three-dimensional, sculptural pieces. Her focus shifts from paint to material itself, how it interacts with the surface and with other materials. She explores contrast, difference, and the transformation of materials, making them interact in ways that alter their original properties.

For example, in many of these works, she juxtaposes feathers soft, delicate material—with rubber, its complete opposite. By carefully selecting colors and working with mixed media and pigments, she modifies the texture of the feathers, making them resemble rubber. The feathers, once soft, become hardened, rough, even painful to the touch. Similarly, the rubber bicycle tire that forms the circle is covered in feathers, stripping it of its original properties.

With this series, she begins working in duets—two paintings at the same time—observing the marks that one painting leaves on the other.

Haptic Perceptions

In this body of work, Maria Fragoudaki explores the creation of a haptic system (from the Greek haptόs, meaning “suitable for touch”). She focuses on material as the subject matter rather than just paint. Through her choice and application of materials, she aims to heighten sensory engagement, inviting viewers to actively explore her works rather than simply observe them passively.

Covid & Quarantine Art

During the COVID and quarantine period, Maria Fragoudaki created a body of work that explored themes related to the pandemic experience and the conditions of quarantine. Her work reflects on the emotional and social impacts of this time and is characterized by works on paper using mainly pencil and ink as the medium.  Fragoudaki’s art during the pandemic can be seen as part of a larger movement where artists use creativity to process trauma, isolation and societal changes caused by Covid-19. 

Upcycling

This series of artworks addresses environmental concerns, specifically the increasing pollution of the ocean by plastic waste.

Acrylics

Collage

Superheroes paintings

This body of work comprises of a series of paintings where superheroes, and particularly the Hulk, are very central to my creative process. I was originally drawn to the Hulk by his constant struggle to control his strength. There is a human aspect in this struggle that creates an empathy with the Hulk, which I try to express through his appearance in my paintings. I believe it is this human element, the fragility behind immense strength that makes many people identify with aspects of the Hulk. I am drawn to this explosive, passionate expression of feelings from an otherwise quiet, sensitive and reserved person. When those feelings, and particularly anger, become too strong to hold inside, a transformation occurs.

Oils

Each painting is driven by a deep need for communication and expression. The canvas defines the space in which colors move, forming images shaped by the artist’s most profound emotions. Life experiences—both her own and those of others—inspire her. They guide the first brushstrokes and establish the fundamental structure of each piece.

As she works, visualizing the finished image in her mind, she becomes completely absorbed in the process until the final composition emerges. Through her paintings, Fragoudaki seeks to establish an intimate dialogue with the viewer—one that shifts depending on the emotions of the observer, leading to new interpretations each time.

Tools

The Tools series began while Maria Fragoudaki was attending the SVA residency program in New York. During this time, she experimented with installation by incorporating the tools she used in her painting process as part of the artwork itself. Her goal was to initiate a dialogue between the painting and the object, allowing their interaction to shift based on the placement of each tool. Like Richard Serra and Duchamp, she employs materials to explore visual intimacy, investigating how objects interact with space and meaning.

Prints

A selection of silkscreen prints and limited edition giclee prints that reflect Maria Fragoudaki’s interdisciplinary and process focused approach. The silkscreen prints are works she made in New York under the supervision of Donald Sheridan, Andy Warhol’s master printer. These works feature bold messages and combine silkscreen printing with found images of her interest, reflecting a more conceptual practice and a strong need to narrate through her art. Her giclee prints are limited edition, archival prints on fine art paper and reflect her engagement with visual languages and her background in chemistry and material science.