The latest solo exhibition by Stella Kapezanou, titled  Bad Girls, Big Dragons and showcased at the Athens Municipal Art Gallery, weaves an ode to the multiple and diverse expressions of woman nature, through the experience of embodying various identities both on a personal and a collective level. A selection of archival, older and newly made works of the Greek visual artist compose a dreamlike universe where female entities co-exist with mythical creatures, inviting the audience to embark on an exploration journey guided by instinct, allure and delight.

The titular large-sized 6x2m painting, especially created for the Gallery’s entrance, is placed at the very core of the exhibition, as its narrative point of departure. The figure of the dragon dominates the painting, as a symbol of the untamed and the “Other”, oozing an aura at once protective and threatening. In the multicolored, almost pop aesthetics-driven, visual art universe of the artist one can discern female entities surrendering to or prevailing over creatures of mythical proportions; dragons, crows, snakes. Women become tigers, men become mermaids, and spirits become flames that light up and project an absurd world.

According to the artist, by means of this democratic pluralism and freedom of expression an act of resistance is embodied in anything that breaks away from the definition of “normal”. As pointed out by Ioanna Gerakidi, the exhibition’s curator: “Kapezanou attempts through her work to examine and consolidate values and notions such as self-determination, empowerment, allure, resistance, as well as that form of desire that persistently refuses to be standardized.”

Duration of the exhibition: 03/07/2025-07/09/2025

Hosted by: Culture, Sports & Youth Organization of the City of Athens