Kallos

RSJ: “Ifanto”, her spectacular work made of bobby pins and hair is just so incredible to look at, it brings to mind silk tapestries. Its obsessive nature and decorative beauty make it apprear at first as something of antiquity that would have been made for pleasure or necessity and not art. Although Karametou’s work is Art (with capital A) and this is what makes it such a wonderful and mysterious work. Next to “Ifanto” her piece “Kallopismos”, a look of long dark and loose hair is on the wall, hanging over a bowl collecting strands of the fallen hair. The bowl sits on a steel pedestal (of the artist’s hand) with a mirror and on the floor the pair of hollowed-out feet are filled with pinecones and face out to address the viewer. And where in the title we are suggested that the work is about beautification, the piece is more mysterious than that. They both are. Together it is the type of museum I want to walk through.

JMD: …the work is so intensely beautiful and well-done that I can’t help but be deeply impressed by the work on the wall. Works like this don’t need the supporting of writing. It only disappoints. I am totally taken in by the “How’d she do that?” impression of the work. Without the writing, the work is a collection of beautiful/mysterious objects that hint towards femininity and appearance without bluntly stating it. It is a perfect example of a somewhat banal concept overcome by creative use of materials, balanced presentation and exceptional craft/ execution.

CO: …there is a tribal element, from the blocky patterns of overlapping hairpins, that looks like Kente cloth and then that long dark hair. The piece called “Swans” was most interesting to me, with its repetition of slender bars made from bobby pins, a woman’s face, and then the hair. These pieces were perfectly integrated - there was no one thing that felt unnecessary or added on. I am fascinated when artwork appears to arrive from nothing, perfectly intact, with no clues as to the artist’s process.

R.J. Jones, J. M. Davis, C. Ober, B.More.Art

Michaela Japec, “The Studio Visit” Artist Interview.P.1   http://thestudiovisit.com/maria-karametou/

This extravagant mix of ingenious, skillfully rendered media infuses the show with a jolt of creative inspiration that subtly challenges the usual expected stereotypes… Maria Karametou's imposing abstract wall works, comprised of thousands of ordinary gold colored bobby pins, are exquisite compilations, methodically crafted. The demanding handwork spotlights skill, patience, and perseverance. These ingenious works spark the imagination with thoughts that span history..
Mary Hrbacek, “CultureCatch”, New York, N.Y.  October 18, 2015

 “…Those bobby pins — 14,518 to be precise — form "Kentima #1 (Embroidery #1)" by Maria Karametou, who uses them to fashion more than just geometric beauty. The pattern in this large piece (54 by 72 inches) is certainly elegant, but beneath the surface are fascinating hints of nostalgia, gender expectations, concepts of beauty and form. Karametou, who teaches at George Mason University in Virginia, studied at Maryland Institute College of Art with the late Grace Hartigan, who is also represented in this exhibit…”
Tim Smith, “Artsmash: Cool Exhibits for Summer Viewing at Mount Vernon Galleries”, The Baltimore Sun July 30, 2015.