Niki Kanagini (1933–2008) was born in Alexandroupolis, Greece, and her career spanned more than five decades. Throughout her life she consistently demonstrated an originality and openness to new artistic ideas. While her early works show an affinity for Abstract Expressionism, she eventually shifted to multilayered works inspired by Greek tradition, gender roles, and contemporary Greek society. She experimented with engraving, tapestry, performance, photography, video, and site-specific installation. As one reviewer notes, food is a recurring theme in her work, and collaboration with other artists and the public were likewise important to her. She was also deeply engaged with environmental art and the burgeoning awareness of environmental destruction that took place in the 1970s.
Niki Kanagini earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1954 at the Ecole Cantonale de Dessin et d’Art Applique, Lausanne, followed by two National Diplomas of Fine Arts at the Athens School of Fine Arts in 1958 and the Central School of Arts and Design in London in 1961. She participated in one of the first exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.. Her work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Athens, the Vorres Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, among others.
