QG Focus Soula Mantalvanos Passaggi: A Painted Season
Exhibition dates: Aug 7 – Sep 7, 2025
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Passaggi: A Painted Season presents the new series of oil paintings by Soula Mantalvanos, tracing her artistic journey through the towns and laneways of Central and Northern Italy. Sketched on location and completed in her Queenscliff studio, these works reflect a deep reverence for traditional artmaking and the quiet rituals of observation and walking.
Mantalvanos captures the character of Italy through its architecture, surfaces, and atmosphere. Stone, marble, and filtered light guide the viewer through narrow passages and sunlit corners. Her process is both immersive and intuitive. Drawn to the everyday poetry of place, she paints not only what is seen but also what is felt.
While most works are grounded in direct observation, two paintings emerge from memory and emotion, deeply influenced by her experience of The Barber of Seville performed at The Arena, Verona and another singular architectural encounter in the same city. In these pieces, Mantalvanos positions doll-like figures and iconographic structure again, bringing a layered, personal symbolism to the scene. They speak to identity, nostalgia, and the lingering power of cultural memory.
This exhibition celebrates Italy not only as a visual subject but also as a sensory and cultural experience—honouring its history, theatre, art and design sensibilities, and the intimacy of moving slowly through its spaces. Each painting is a passage in itself, reflecting stillness, presence, and connection.
