Maria Ikonomopoulou was born in 1961 in Kalamata, Greece. After earning a degree in Economics from the University of Athens, she moved to the Netherlands in 1985 to study art. She first attended the Free Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague for two years and later graduated in 1991 from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, specializing in Sculpture and Monumental Art.

Based in Rotterdam, Ikonomopoulou’s practice revolves around long-term processes that explore the balance between the collective and the individual. Central themes in her work include notions of growth—both literal and metaphorical—and care, in the sense of both nurturing and expressing concern for the environment. The economic crisis in Greece in recent years has deeply influenced her perspective. Beyond its political implications, she is particularly interested in how people share and experience urban spaces as citizens (polites) within a city (polis).

Her artistic activity spans three interconnected practices: commissioned public space projects that involve community participation, solitary studio work, and public interventions. She employs a variety of materials and techniques, often incorporating photography and time-intensive methods inspired by folk art traditions, such as embroidery on textiles and intricate paper-cutting.

Her work has been exhibited in Belgium, Greece, and the Netherlands, and she has created commissioned pieces for public spaces in the Netherlands. Her artworks are part of several collections, including the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) in Athens, the State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki, Museum Meermanno in The Hague, various public institutions in the Netherlands, and numerous private collections across Europe.