About
Composing vision, narrative and form.
My name is Mariam, the mind behind Komnen – a creative practice that works across art direction, design, and curatorial research. My work is guided by a belief that design and art are instruments of understanding – ways of recognising and shaping relationships between ideas and reality, ways of establishing a dialogue between past and present.
Both an artist and a designer, informed by a background in cultural management, art history, and curation, I approach each project through a liminal perspective that treats form, context and meaning as inseparable. The work of Komnen is drawn to, and thrives on, dualities – past and present, darkness and light, art and commerce – and on the tensions that give these binaries their depth. With research often rooted in history and philosophy, particularly antiquity and the Renaissance, my work is grounded in the belief that genuine creation must leave room for subjectivity, even obscenity and mystery; that some part of the work should remain ungoverned, even if it seems to follow a strict structure.
Another significant part of Komnen’s practice is devoted to work with museums and cultural establishments, particularly in scenography and visual identity. This work is shaped by a sensitivity to the spatial narratives that exhibitions construct, the identities they carry, and the dialogues they build with their audiences – a fertile environment for the liminal nature of my work, which spans projects across the Middle East and Europe, encountering diverse institutional realities and collaborative processes with each new call.
Tbilisi/GEO – Paris/FR –
Methodology
My methodology stands on three proverbial elephants – thought, sensation, and creation – and is grounded in the continual movement between research, perception, and form. Each project begins with an exploration of its cultural and historical context, establishing a conceptual framework through which ideas can be understood, questioned, and situated. This analytical grounding is paired with an intuitive, sensory engagement – an attention to atmosphere, materiality, and the emotional logic of the images that emerge.
The process unfolds through the contextual interaction of these elements. Rather than functioning in sequence, they operate in dialogue, shaping the work through iterative refinement and reflective adjustment. This allows each project to develop with both conceptual precision and experiential resonance. The aim is to produce work that is grounded, intentional, and attentive to the cultural meaning embedded in its form – work that is yours, and that stands outside trends and temporary social influences.
Contact:
Schedule an Inquiry Call
Services:
Art Direction & Concept Development
Branding & Visual Identity Exhibition Design & Scenography Editorial & Print Design Commissioned Artwork Writing
Services in detail
Signature Offers
Downloads:
CV EN FR ITA
General Portfolio PDF EN FR
Artwork Portfolio PDF [ request ]
Print + Editorial Portfolio PDF [ request ]
Visual Identity Portfolio PDF [ request ]
Notable Projects:
- ‘Para-solitude: One as Many’
(September 2021 - Paris, FR)
Curated and produced an exhibition in Paris as part of a Diploma project for the MBA/MSc in Art&Cultural Management. A week-long show included artists such as Randa Maroufi, Société Réaliste, Violaine Lochu and Fayçal Baghriche. For more - see the projects page.
- ‘Models of Humanity’ for Amnesty International
(April 2018 - Amsterdam, NL)
Researched one of the Amnesty International’s cases for its 50th Year Anniversary; Created an art installation for the show, visually translating research results and interviews into an interactive artwork.
- ‘Balance by Struggle’ for Kunstmuseum Den Haag
(September 2017 - The Hague, NL)
Curated, designed and organised an exhibition “Balance by Struggle” for the 100-year Anniversary of the “De Stijl” movement in Holland in 2017; Shared responsibility for concept development, production of artworks, budgeting, transportation and marketing stages of the process.
Exhibitions & shows:
- Performance as part of the ‘Dollenials Off The Page’
Kontra Rotterdam
(Rotterdam, NL) - 2019
- ‘Gospel Truth’
KABK Graduation Festival
(The Hague, NL) - 2019
- ‘Models of Humanity’
Commissioned by Amnesty International
(Amsterdam, NL) - 2018
- Save_As_Expo2 ‘Fertilising Impotent Gardens’
Commisioned by Studio 165
(The Hague, NL) - 2017
- ‘Balance by Struggle’
Kunstmuseum The Hague
(The Hague, NL) - 2017
- ‘Electro Library’
Royal Academy of Art, KABK
(The Hague, NL) - 2017
- ‘Somewhere in Between Fiction & Future’
KABK x De Besturing
(The Hague, NL) - 2017
Writing:
- Text Archive
- Synesis
Talks:
- ‘Formal and Functional’
In a framework of "Balance By Struggle" exhibition
(The Hague, NL) - 2017
- ‘Consolidating Sound and Image’
In a framework of educational project "Sfera"
(Moscow, RU) - 2017