Photo by Yiorgos Vellis

Pavlina Vagioni (b. 1975, Athens, Greece) is a Houston-based interdisciplinary artist who stages encounters between classical mythology and contemporary life. Moving fluidly between sculpture, painting, sound, mixed media, and digital art, she adopts a site-specific approach to making work, with multisensory installations presented in a range of sizes that embrace abstract and figurative elements.

The artist’s personal and professional experiences, deeply influenced by her multicultural, multilingual, and diasporic background, are reflected in her work. Recent series—Medusa, Proteus, and Chiron—explore themes of fear and protection, the pressures and possibilities of digital influence, and contemporary care systems.

Solo exhibitions include The Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis [IN], The Opening Gallery [New York, NY], Carillon Gallery [Fort Worth, TX], TANK Space [Houston, TX], and Kappatos Gallery [Athens, Greece]. Group shows have been held at the Byzantine Museum, the Hellenic American Union, and the City of Athens Arts Center. Public art commissions include a large-scale installation of over 2,000 suspended laser-cut acrylic elements for Houston’s ION Building. The artist’s commitment to utilizing new materials and fabrication technologies in her practice has been supported by a workshop scholarship at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado and a residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work is included in the permanent collection of MOMus–Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki, Greece, and has been recognized with the Juror’s Award from the Lawndale Art Center in Houston.

Vagioni studied painting, sculpture, and scenography at the Athens School of Fine Arts in Greece, graduating with honors at the master’s level in 2016. Over a decade of training as a classical soprano soloist, alongside studies in piano, music theory, and composition, provides an interdisciplinary foundation that continues to inform her practice. Currently, she is presenting Oikeiōsis, a solo exhibition with the Hellenic Diaspora Foundation, in Venice during the 61st Biennale Arte.