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©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki

Maru Meleniou

  • Ceramicist
  • Athens, Greece
  • Master Artisan
Maru Meleniou Ceramicist
Contact
Greek, English
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+30 2111178828
©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki

Conscious clay

  • • Maru’s work questions the beauty of everyday life
  • • Her experience in Japan had a major influence on her work
  • • She designs exclusive tableware for Greek chefs

After a background in graphic design, Maru Meleniou became fascinated with ceramics; she was seduced by the rhythm and purpose of the process, in which she saw “a path to self-awareness”. Drawing on her meaningful experience in Japan, her approach is inspired by the art of living, the notion of the essential. Maru demonstrates a fine attention to detail, unveiling the beauty in imperfection. Organic shapes, earthy colours and subtle textures, her ceramic pieces embody her creative process and the honest relationship she has cultivated with clay. Her work includes mostly stoneware; tableware but also sculptural objects. For Maru, the idea of well made lies in the right balance between freedom of expression, intellectual content and artistic dexterity.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
  • ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
  • ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
  • ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
Photo: ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
Bean No.1

This white ceramic vessel was made with the coiling technique in 2020. It is painted with white porcelain slip, glazed and fired at 1220℃. It is a round, off-centred ceramic vessel that some identify as a belly, a womb, others as a musical instrument. It is layered to create a gradient of whiteness.

Height 30 cm
Diameter 33 cm

Photo: ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
Kallirhoe No.1, No.2, No.3, No.4

This series features ceramic bowls of different sizes and colours; dark grey, beige, and black. Several hand building techniques, such as pinching and coiling, were applied during the making. The bowls are glazed inside and fired at 1220℃. The intense materiality on the outside of these bowls refers to the dynamic relationship of the elements in the Aegean Pelagos.

Height 13 cm
Diameter 19 cm
Height 9 cm
Diameter 12 cm
Height 7 cm
Diameter 9 cm
Height 4 cm
Diameter 7 cm

Photo: ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
Vessel No19, Vessel No21, Vessel No6

This series of hand-build ceramic sculptural vessels were made with the coiling technique. Each vessel has been painted with white porcelain slip, glazed and fired at 1220℃. This series of vessels is inspired by the human body, vital organs, pulsating musical instruments and aims to contemplate with the concept of "vessility", the concept of containment. Maru Meleniou’s vessels are not intending to be a perfect white, rather they carry a layering, in an attempt to search for a way to feel whiteness.

Height 48 cm
Diameter 30 cm
Height 26 cm
Diameter 17 cm
Height 24 cm
Diameter 35 cm

Photo: ©Ira Mazaraki & Zeta Spyraki
Notes on soil No.4

Several techniques were applied for the creation of this ceramic vessel. The object is made with the coiling technique, painted with porcelain slip, glazed and fired at 1220℃. On top of its surface a number of questions are written in black slip. It is a vessel that aims to contain abstract ideas, thoughts and images.

Height 37 cm
Diameter 25 cm

Find Maru Meleniou in the itinerary

Athens: the birthplace of the amphora
10 locations
In more than 3,000 years of existence, the city of Athens has acquired many titles, such as the centre of classical philosophy and the origin of democracy. Follow our itinerary to discover Athens from a new perspective: as the birthplace of the amphora.
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