Maria Karametou is a mixed media artist, writer, curator, and professor with an international exhibition record that includes: the Ludwig Museum for International Art, Aachen, Germany; the Vorres Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece; the National Gallery of Art, Sofia, Bulgaria; the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; the Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea; Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf, Germany; Apartman Projesi, Istanbul Turkey; Trito Mati Gallery, Athens, Greece; Elite Gallery, Moscow, Russia; A. Taki Gallery Istanbul, Turkey; Asian ArtWorks, Beijing, China; among many others.
In the U.S. her work has been shown at The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; The Holter Museum, Montana; The Baltimore Museum; The North Dakota Museum; The Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.; The Montana Museum; The Danville Museum (VA); The Portsmouth Museum (VA); The John Elder Gallery, New York, N.Y.; The Shiva Gallery, New York, N.Y.; The Harper Collins Gallery, New York, N.Y; Comus Gallery, Portland, Oregon; Selby Gallery, Sarasota, Florida; J. Scott Gallery, Johnson, Vermont, among numerous others. Her most recent solo show, “Kallos,” was at the Katzen Museum, Washington, D.C.
Karametou has also exhibited extensively in the Washington D.C. area where she lives, including at the C. Grimaldis Gallery (Baltimore); the Ellipse Arts Center; the Arlington Arts Center; Flashpoint; Washington Square; the McLean Project for the Arts; the Washington Project for the Arts; Maryland Art Place; the Baltimore-Washington International Airport; School 33 Art Center; Gallery 10, etc., and was represented by Gallery K from 1987 until its’ closing in 2003. Other gallery representations include the C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD, and Trito Mati Gallery, Athens, Greece.
International collaborative projects include “Penelopeia”, sponsored by the Presidency of the European Union; being a visiting artist at the international symposium “Earth” (Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Skopelos Island, Greece); organizing and curating “Converging Parallels” in collaboration with Turkish artist Biret Tavman (Ayse Taki Gallery, Istanbul); “EcoReflections” in partnership with artist C. Demir, (Resim ve Heykel Müzesi Galerisi, Ankara, Turkey); and the “Vegoritis” Project, Macedonia, Greece.
Karametou’s work is in permanent collections worldwide, including The Vorres Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece; the Baltimore Museum; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece; the Holter Museum, Helena, MT; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Crete, Greece; The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities; The Schar Cancer Institute, Inova Hospital Group, McLean, VA; the Freddie Mac Corporation; and was in the collection of His Excellency the U.S. Ambassador to Greece and Mrs. T. Miller during his tenure.
Numerous reviews include The Washington Post; the Baltimore Sun; the New Art Examiner; To Vima; the Kathimerini; Epikera magazine; The Evening Sun; The Washington City Paper; Baltimore City Paper; SMCK magazine; the Voice of America; the Washington Review; The Alternative; Eikastika Magazine; National Herald; Hellenic News; Vogue Magazine (Greek edition), as well as an “Antenna” Greek Television interview, and inclusion in the book “The Power of Visual Logos” (ICAN 2003).
She is the recipient of many awards such as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar Award from the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, the First Prize in the Maryland Biennial, and Individual Artist Grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, Montgomery County Arts Council, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities among several others. She served on the Board of Directors of the Arlington Arts Center from 2004 -2012 and is a juror and curator of many shows.
As a writer, Karametou received the Second Prize in the Washington Metropolitan Area Short Story Competition, and her story was published in Bethesda Magazine. Other publications involve inclusion in poetry anthologies, literary journals, numerous artist statements, artist books, and essays. Karametou’s current work, both literary and visual,relates to Identity. Her literary fiction novel “The Amalgam,” will be published in early 2026.
Karametou first studied painting and drawing in her native Greece under Theodore Drosos, and immigrated to the U.S. after high school. She holds the BA from the University of Maryland (cum laude), and the MFA from the Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, where she studied with renowned artists Grace Hartigan and Salvatore Scarpitta.
She is a Professor Emerita having recently left her tenured position at the School of Art, George Mason University, Virginia, USA, where she directed the Drawing Division, prior to serving as the Director of Art International Programs.
Karametou has taught for a variety of other institutions including the University of LaVerne, The University of Maryland (European Division), and George Washington University.