Giannakaki Maria (1958)

She was born in 1958 in Athens. She studied painting with Panayiotis Tetsis and mosaic with George Kolefas at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1977-1982). She continued with postgraduate studies in China (Hangzhou Academy of Fine Arts) on a scholarship, with a major in the techniques of traditional Chinese painting (1983-1985).
Her first solo exhibition was held in Beijing (Beijing Artists Gallery, 1986). The influences of Chinese painting and calligraphy were decisive in shaping her own personal style, particularly as far as her materials and techniques are concerned. She works mostly on silk or rice paper, with ink, coloured pencils or crayons. Her themes are anthropocentric; she paints figures of women and children in fluid and undefined environments. The Chinese tradition is often evident in her brush stroke, her freedom of composition and the balance of tones. At times, expressionist elements are incorporated in the poetic atmosphere of her work, enhancing the emotions of the human forms and the european identity of the works.
Along with her painting, she also involved in illustrations and book covers design.
Her solo exhibitions have been held in Athens and other Greek cities (Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, etc.), and also in France, Belgium and Beijing. She has participated in many group exhibitions in Greece and other european countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden), in the USA, in China (International Ink and Wash Painting Exhibition, Beijing, 1988 and Beijing International Biennale, 2005), and in the 8th Triennale in New Delhi (1994).