It’s with great pleasure and excitement that I announce my exhibition Passaggi: A Painted Season at Queenscliff Gallery.

I’ve been anticipating this exhibition since I started sketching the works during my 2024 trip to Italy. To see the 15 works completed and exhibited, greeting the world is a delight. Being in the position of QG Director and curating my exhibition is also an exceptional experience. The hard work is so worth it.

Even more thrilling is the fact that I’ll be on a plane returning to Italy next week to relive the experience. I love the motion of doing something I love over and over. I love hard work. I savour the experience when the two come together to celebrate in a finale… like an exhibition.

I hope to see you at QG.

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.

Exhibition details

Exhibition dates: Aug 7 – Sep 8, 2025
Join Soula at QG all weekend, Sep 9–10, 2025 between 2 – 4pm.

All sale enquiries theo@qgallery.com.au