Vana Xenou (Athens, 1949) studied painting and scenography at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Y. Moralis. (1968-1973), and she continued her studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1974-1978).

She initially presented paintings at her first solo exhibition at the Ora Gallery (Athens, 1978). She soon turned to installations, three-dimensional constructions, and sculpture, presenting her work in a series of consecutive thematic series, such as: Visual exploration of the world of Lewis Carroll, Judith and Holofernes, Angels, Hyperion, while a large part of her work is dedicated to the Eleusinian Mysteries. These thematic choices highlight the contemporary dimension and timeless function of works, images, narratives, or locations from the past in relation to the big questions of human existence.

Alongside her artistic practice, she developed important teaching work, based on research and interpretations of the sculptural space, which she presented in exhibitions and lectures in Greece and abroad. She taught drawing at the Technical Educational Institute (1976-77). In 1980, she became a research associate in the Department of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens, and in 1986, she was elected lecturer in the Painting Laboratory of the same department, where she continues to teach today as a professor. In 1992-1993, she taught as a visiting professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

She has had many solo exhibitions in Greece and abroad (Europe and the USA) and has also participated in a large number of group exhibitions. In 1982, she participated in the Europalia festival (Belgium). In 2000, she held an exhibition on the Eleusinian Mysteries at the Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière in Paris, at the invitation of the French Ministry of Culture. In 2025, he presented the retrospective exhibition "Mystery 15: The Open Museum" in Eleusis as part of the "Eleusis - European Capital of Culture".