The Cragin Art Gallery at Missouri Southern State University is pleased to present Shapes the world could have taken, an exhibition of work by Marina Kassianidou, on view from February 23 through March 25, 2026.
Marina Kassianidou’s practice revolves around processes of marking. Through her works, she
approaches mark making as a mode of becoming attentive and as a way of responding and relating to something other—a surface, a space, the world around us. The artist works primarily with everyday materials, such as graph paper, plywood, adhesive vinyl, security envelopes, and patterned fabric. Rather than being the physical support for her marks, these materials become an integral part of her work. She studies each surface closely and experiments with ways of marking it, seeking marks that respond to its appearance, use, or history. As a result, her marks/interventions visually interweave with the pre-existing materials. In a sense, her interventions excavate each surface, drawing attention to its features, histories, and potentially unseen or alternative narratives. By rethinking the act of marking, Kassianidou’s work challenges the idea of the artist as sole creator and foregrounds instead the collaboration between artist and materials.
An artist talk and reception will be held on February 23, 2026, with the talk beginning in Corley Auditorium at 4:00 pm followed by a reception in the Cragin Art Gallery at 5:00 pm. These events are free and open to the public. Please find below a Zoom link for those unable to attend in person:
https://mssu-edu.zoom.us/j/83272790225
Marina Kassianidou was born in Limassol, Cyprus, and lives and works between Limassol and Boulder, Colorado, USA. She received a B.A. in Studio Art from Stanford University (California, USA), an M.A. in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (London, UK), and a Ph.D. in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts (London, UK). Her work has been exhibited internationally at spaces such as the Nicosia Municipal Arts Center NiMAC (Nicosia, Cyprus), Thkio Ppalies (Nicosia, Cyprus), Tenderpixel Gallery (London, UK), Stand4 Gallery (Brooklyn, New York, USA), Yes Ma’am Projects (Denver, Colorado, USA), Lane Meyer Projects (Denver, Colorado, USA), Rule Gallery (Marfa, Texas, USA), the NARS Foundation (Brooklyn, New York, USA), ETAJ Artist-Run Space (Bucharest, Romania), National Gallery of Art (Skopje, North Macedonia), and MISC Athens (Athens, Greece). She has been awarded fellowships and residencies at the Ragdale Foundation, Hambidge Center, Can Serrat, Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency, and The Studios at MASS MoCA, among others. She is a recipient of the 2016 Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant. She is Associate Professor in Art Practices at the University of Colorado Boulder.
