soula Archives - soula.com.au

What’s it going to be, 2025?
Me, Painting, Studio, Travel

What’s it going to be, 2025?

Soula Mantalvanos2025-02-01T10:45:20+11:00January 31, 2025|Me, Painting, Studio, Travel|

Aaah, the freshness of a new year.Although this might not be published by the end of January, I started drafting it at the beginning of the year.Time flies, especially when Queenscliff Gallery's (QG) doors are open seven days a week. It's tough and not.Being grounded is quite lovely. Doing the same thing ritualistically has a soothing side. That the summer has been fruitful makes up for missing out on leisurely pleasures and the FOMO.My health issue first introduced me to the joys of cancellations. I often had to ground myself and keep life simple to survive. Then, a dear friend, the late Michael Leunig, affirmed the experience with a divine poem, JOMO—the joy of missing out.

Queenscliff Gallery Presents Silent Narratives: David Frazer, Soula Mantalvanos & Sue Poggioli
Exhibition

Queenscliff Gallery Presents Silent Narratives: David Frazer, Soula Mantalvanos & Sue Poggioli

Soula Mantalvanos2024-10-24T11:07:54+11:00October 24, 2024|Exhibition|

I am thrilled to present and announce more official information about Silent Narratives, my upcoming exhibition at Queenscliff Gallery (QG). And I’ve got a special invitation for you, so read on! As the director of QG, my main task is to curate exhibitions and manage social media. I’m in awe of the artists Theo and I are so fortunate to work with, and [...]

Phase Two Italy: Settling in
Travel

Phase Two Italy: Settling in

Soula Mantalvanos2024-09-28T01:56:56+10:00September 28, 2024|Travel|

I'm settling into the routine now: walk, draw, eat, drink, rest, and start again. This is what I like to call work/life balance. As I mentioned in Phase One Italy: Nurture, an artist never stops working, but it's a joy in this environment, especially if/when the work created sells. Some added bliss to this trip is that I can enjoy short journeys, whether by car or Italy's fabulous rail system. For example, Montepulciano is a 40-minute drive from Cortona, where Theo and I are based. I can't get to Melbourne from Queenscliff in that time, and the road is nowhere near as picturesque or stimulating.

Welcome to my Soula Store
Media

Welcome to my Soula Store

soula2024-08-23T22:35:36+10:00July 19, 2024|Media|

Artists need to be resourceful if they’re going to support themselves and satisfy a patron’s dream of owning one of their works. I often find myself gazing at some of my works and feeling sad at the thought of their destiny being ‘forever in the studio’. So, I am taking action and refusing to let that be their fate. Armed with my design [...]

Hanging in the Queenscliff Gallery Vestibule
Curating, Gallery, Me, Painting, Portraits

Hanging in the Queenscliff Gallery Vestibule

Soula Mantalvanos2024-08-23T15:03:30+10:00March 8, 2024|Curating, Gallery, Me, Painting, Portraits|

I really like intimate exhibition spaces!Small spaces attract much attention, especially if they are great (if I may say so) and at the gallery entry and exit point like the Vestibule at Queenscliff Gallery (QG). I finally decided it was time to send Endurance out into the world. I'm working on a new body of work and feel a few of my self-portraits can finally face the world. After a few touch-ups, I also re-introduced Hare's Secret Keys. Both works incorporate the Fornasetti wallpaper that I live with and love and my two marionettes.

A Fargo Stamp for my Creative Process
Me, Words

A Fargo Stamp for my Creative Process

Soula Mantalvanos2024-02-26T15:45:44+11:00February 26, 2024|Me, Words|

In 2013, when I began making progress with pain management, I had the idea to make a marionette of myself. Theo and I had just travelled to Italy (masks and Pinocchios everywhere!), and returning on the plane I watched the film, Marilyn. It dawned on me how seriously invisible many illnesses are. As much as I would have loved to make the [...]

Geelong Times Magazine: Curating a New Life by the Bay
Media

Geelong Times Magazine: Curating a New Life by the Bay

Soula Mantalvanos2025-02-21T21:06:14+11:00January 8, 2024|Media|

I always hold my breath when the media comes knocking on the door. It’s just ‘norm’ that personal information always gets distorted and somehow feels like your information is suddenly owned by the writer with all rights to embellish and adjust. Whether intentional or not, I usually regret telling my story. But this time, it went well! The fabulous Cam Ward got the [...]

The Greek Herald Soula Mantalvanos: Bridging art and design in Melbourne’s creative landscape
Media

The Greek Herald Soula Mantalvanos: Bridging art and design in Melbourne’s creative landscape

Soula Mantalvanos2024-01-08T15:36:44+11:00January 8, 2024|Media|

I am a very fortunate popet when it comes to media. The Greek community have been a huge support, especially the Greek papers and the Greek Australian Cultural League. Here’s the most recently published article in The Greek Herald, published in Greek and English. And look at me as a front-page snippet – it just makes you want to turn the page, doesn’t [...]

Soula Mantalvanos Celebrates the Beauty of Venice
Exhibition

Soula Mantalvanos Celebrates the Beauty of Venice

soula2023-03-17T15:01:36+11:00March 17, 2023|Exhibition|

Q: What were some of the foundation ideas for this exhibition project?A: If I had to use one word, it would be ‘place’. And the relationship with it; what it means when you’re in it, how it impacts you when you’re away from it, what resonates after you’ve visited or lived in it.Perhaps it’s also respecting a place – I absolutely love Venice. But maybe also, I’m simply doing the artist thing; travelling, documenting, and communicating because that is a beautiful thing to do.

My Happy 50th
Me

My Happy 50th

soula2024-08-15T11:30:10+10:00December 28, 2020|Me|

(Written 1 year later!) I had an absolutely glorious 50th. With all the social media outlets, I neglected writing a post about my special occasion on my own website. With this freshen up of the website, it is an optimum excuse to create the post now. This event is a significant one – not just because I marked my 50 years of [...]

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