Vassiliki-Maria Plavou is mostly an architect. She works in the fields of art and architecture, focusing on the overlappings of curating and design. Her interdisciplinary practice has engaged collaborations with artists as Maria Papadimitriou, Christos Delidimos; curators as Locus Athens, Yorgos Tzirtzilakis and Nadja Argyropoulou; cultural institutions as the Benaki Museum and DESTE Foundation. Her projects and texts have been featured in Kerb Journal, MAS Context and Mousse Magazine. Her research interests include gendered geographies, new materialism and architectural operations in the digital era. Currently, she operates as the Managing Director of Vitra Showroom (ATH) | El Greco Gallery and her main focus is design.
Education
Postgraduate Studies Program in Architectural Design Symbioses, Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly — 2011-2013.
Graduate Program in Architectural Engineering, School of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki — 2005-2011.
Professional Experience
Administration
Managing Director of Vitra Showroom (ATH) | El Greco Gallery — 2016-today.
Curatorial Affairs
Genesis21 <3, Kappatos Rooms at St. George Lycabettus, Athens, Greece, 2019. (Curator)
Outcast Europe, Memories of Displacement and Movement, Hotel Bagkeion, Athens, Greece, 2018. (Co-curator with Inter Alia)
Anthology of Cracks, Point Centre for Contemporary Art, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2018. (Curator)
Decorbuziers exhibition, Romantso Cultural Centre, Athens, 2015. (Co-Curator)
Tassos Vrettos. Wor(th)ships. exhibition, Benaki Museum, Athens, 2015. (Curatorial Assistant)
MC Redux exhibition and architectural workshop, Maison Crystal, Thessaloniki, 2014. (Assistant)
Hell As Pavilion exhibition, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Palais De Tokyo, Paris, 2013. (Curatorial Assistant)
Exhibition Design
Outcast Europe, Memories of Displacement and Movement, Hotel Bagkeion, Athens, Greece, 2018.
The life of “three fingers in one hand”: Le Corbusier – Pierre Jeanneret – Charlotte Perriand, El Greco Gallery, Athens (GR), 2018.
Tassos Vrettos. Wor(th)ships. exhibition, Benaki Museum, Athens, 2015.
Decorbuziers exhibition, Romantso Cultural Centre, Athens, 2015.
Hell As Pavilion exhibition, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Palais De Tokyo, Paris, 2013.
Graphic Design & Installation Graphics
Outcast Europe, Memories of Displacement and Movement, Hotel Bagkeion, Athens, Greece, 2018.
Is it Real?, Syros International Film Festival (SIFF), Athens, 2018.
Paratoxic Paradoxes Dumpsite, PCAI, www, 2017.
George Lappas - Happy Birthday, DESTE Publications, (Benaki Museum) Athens, 2016.
Hypnos Project, Onassis Foundation with Kastaniotis Publications, 2016.
Aigaleo City community project, NEON publications, Athens, 2016.
GR80S – Greece in the Eighties, Τechnopolis-City of Athens, Athens, 2016.
Eames by Vitra - The Gifted Eye, Vitra, Athens, 2016.
Something Nests Inside You, Something Will Not Be the Same, Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens, 2016.
Ametria exhibition, Benaki Museum, Athens, 2015.
DESTE Prize 2015, Cycladic Art Museum, Athens, 2015.
Maria Papadimitriou - Why Look at Animals? Agrimikà., National Participation for the 56th International Art exhibition-La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 2015.
Kim Gordon – Design Office: Noise Name Paintings and Sculptures of Rock Bands that are Broken Up, Benaki Museum, Athens, 2015.
Decorbuziers exhibition, Romantso Cultural Centre, Athens, 2015.
The Space Between, One Athens, Athens, 2015.
Minimum Structure, Scenes of a Hut, Kritiki publications, Athens, 2014.
Maria Papadimitriou - Firma Gypsy Globales, Deste Publications, Athens, 2014.
Ritual Apparatuses for an Earth Memory, UTH/EPHE/ANHIMA, PAW, Volos, 2014.
Populations of Fragments, Postgraduate Studies Program, Department of Architecture, UTH, 2012.
Teaching
Outcast Europe CBA program, Skoulikaria municipality, Arta, 2017.
Frankenstein Editorial publishing workshop, Circuits and Currents project space, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens, 2016. (Instructor)
Metropolitan Installations for Political Performativity, instructed by Zisis Kotionis, Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly, Volos, 2014. (TA)
3D printing educational program in collaboration with Fotis Sagonas, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (Visitors Center), Athens, 2014. (Instructor)
Design Studio I, instructed by Elias Zenghelis, Postgraduate Studies Program, Department of Architecture, UTH, Volos, 2012-2013. (TA)
Sweet X|Architecture: Advanced Design Workshop, instructed by X|Atelier (Erick Carcamo, Nefeli Chatzimina), Benaki Museum (Pireaus Building), Athens, 2012. (TA)
Lectures & Conferences
The life of “three fingers in one hand”: Le Corbusier – Pierre Jeanneret – Charlotte Perriand, El Greco Gallery, Athens, 2018.
Migratorious City, Art Theory studio, Department of Architecture, UTH, Volos, 2017.
Frankenstein Editorial publishing workshop, Circuits and Currents project space, ASFA, Athens, 2016.
Tassos Vrettos. Wor(th)ships, Benaki Museum, Athens, 2016.
On Curating, Art Theory studio, Department of Architecture, UTH, Volos, 2016.
Space in a Book Format, Design Athens II conference, American Community Schools (ACS), Athens, 2016.
On Politics of the Streets, Metropolitan Installations for Political Performativity studio, Department of Architecture, UTH, Volos, 2014.
On Curating, Mémoires de la Terre Conférence, UTH/EPHE/ANHIMA, PAW, Volos, 2014.
Architectural Models, Introduction to Architecture I studio, Department of Architecture, UTH, Volos, 2013.
AbsoleM-plifier & Carpo.fora, Inward-robe studio, Department of Architecture, UTH, Volos, 2012.
Ter(r)a.tory (Territories of terra forma), Collecting Architecture-Territories Symposium: Athens Minutes with GSAPP round table, New Hotel, Athens, 2012.
Exhibitions (as participant)
Ta Demodi (Τα Δημώδη), curated by Apostolis Artinos, Aggeliki Chatzimichali Center for Popular Craft and Art, Athens, 2019.
Ta Demodi (Τα Δημώδη), curated by Apostolis Artinos, Panourgia Residence, Amfissa, 2018.
Westopia exhibition, curated by Parasite 2.0, Villa Milanese, Milan, 2017.
Photoreportaz, curated by Alexios Papazacharias, Romantso Cultural Center, Athens, 2014.
Minimum Structure, curated by Apostolis Artinos, Romantso Cultural Center, Athens, 2014.
Worlds of Cityvision, curated by Cityvision Lab, WUHO Gallery, Los Angeles, 2014.
MON3Y as an ERROR, Vasily Zaitsev, www, 2013.
Lustlands vol. II - On the Great Eastern (after Andreas Embiricos), curated by Nadja Argyropoulou and The Callas (Lakis & Aris Ionas), Thermissia Argolidas, 2013.
Hell As Pavilion exhibition, curated by Nadja Argyropoulou and Nadja Argyropoulou, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Palais De Tokyo, Paris, 2013.
Toposimo (the Landmark) of the Faliro Bay : Architectural Competition Drafts exhibition, organized by Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Benaki Museum, Athens, 2013.
Collecting Architecture Territories exhibition, curated by Nadja Argyropoulou, Craig Buckley and Yorgos Tzirtzilakis, DESTE Foundation, Athens, 2012.
Incubator (part of Architecture and the City in SE Europe exhibition), curated by Evelyn Gavrilou, Iris Lykourioti, Costis Paniyiris, Lois Papadopoulos & Spyros Papadopoulos, Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, 2012.
Urban Performance (part of Nothing goes to waste exhibition), curated by Stavros Vergopoulos & Dimitris Gourdoukis, Center of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, 2010.
Publications
Artinos, Apostolis. Ta Demodi (Τα Δημώδη) - Performative Readings & Visual Arts on Folk Traditions exhibition catalogue. Amfissa: Symptom Project, 2018. (Mention)
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria. “Pivotal point Jean Prouvé.” CY-Arch.com.
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria. “Charlotte Perriand: copper instead of pearls.” CY-Arch.com.
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria. “The Organic Nature of the Inorganic. Curatorial Practice in the Era of New Materialism.” In Symbioses, edited by Kotionis Zisis and Tzirtzilakis Yiotgos. 1st ed. Athens: Kastaniotis publications, 2017.
Allen, Jennifer. “The End of Art in Public Space.” In MOUSSE Magazine 42 edited by Bonaspetti Edoardo. Milan: Mousse Publishing, 2014. (Mention)
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria. “Locus Erectus: Topography of Desire.” In CCC: Critical Contemporary Culture - PLAY, edited by Kusber Alexa. criticalcontemporaryculture.org
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria. “In Between Lines and Gazes.” In The Minimum Structure - Scenes of a Hut, edited by Artinos Apostolis. 1st ed. Athens: Kritiki editions, 2014.
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria. “AbsoleM-plifier.” In Kerb Journal 21, edited by Gery Dion, Kennedy William, Robertson Harriet & Bella Leber Smeaton. Melbourne: melbourne books, 2013.
Baraona-Pohl, Ethel & Reyes Nájera César, Papamargariti Eva and Plavou Vassiliki-Maria. “Hotel Concordia. Don’t Let Your Dreams Sink.” In Display: Didactics for a relational architecture, edited by Navarra Marco. Syracuse: LetteraVentidue Edizioni, 2013.
Papamargariti, Eva & Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria. “Netopias: Premonitions of Past Futures”. In MAS Context magazine 18 - Improbable edited by Gild Iker. Mas Context magazine: www, 2013.
Efthimiou, Eftihis & Koutroyiannis, Vaggelis & Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria & Tsolaki, Evaggelia & Xidi Anna. “Ter(r)a.tory-Territories of Terra Forma.” In Collecting Architecture Territories, edited by Argyropoulou, Nadja & Buckley, Craig & Tzirtzilakis, Yiorgos & Wasiuta, Mark. 1st ed. Athens: Deste Publications, 2012.
Chiou, Maria & Koroni, Dimitra & Papakonstantinou, Vassilis & Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria & Samara, Aliki & Smouklis, Fotis. “Love me Tender.” In Architectural model lead to design, special issue 9. Korea: Damdi publications, 2010
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria & Smouklis, Fotis. “Stratified Envelope.” In Performative Geometries, Transforming Textile Techniques, edited by Agkathidis, Asterios & Schillig, Gabi. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2011.
Plavou, Vassiliki-Maria & Smouklis, Fotis. “Para-sito.” In Compe 09: National Student Architectural Competition for the Campus of Department of Architecture project catalogue, edited Kotionis, Zisis. Volos: University of Thessaly Press, 2009.
Awards & Scholarships
Received the first Prize for Best Book Cover and Best Artist’s Catalogue, for Maria Papadimitriou – ΦIRMA GYPSY GLOBALES artist’s book in Edition Category, Hellenic Graphic Design and Illustration Awards (EBGE), 2015.
Received the first prize in Ermis Awards in Greece, at the category of Editorial Design, for the graphic design of the artist’s book Maria Papadimitriou, Firma Gypsy Globales, 2014.
Received the first place award in the Hellenic Graphic Design and Illustration Awards (EBGE), for the graphic design of the book edition Locus Erectus: topography of desire, in the category of self-publications (among leading graphic designers), 2014.
Received the I.K.Y (State Scholarships Foundation) Scholarships for the academic year 2005-2006 (entry year).