The ATHENS PRINTMAKING CENTER – PANDOLFINI & SIATERLI N.P.C. presents Valentini Mavrodoglou’s solo exhibition Awakenings at the ETCH INK art space from April 24 to May 30, 2026. Her tenth solo show focuses on the human figure and its experience within our current reality, set against an increasingly suffocating economic, political, and social backdrop. The constant quest for the human form in her work shifts, listening to internal and deeper transitions as a result of external turbulence in a state of constant becoming.

Moving from the investigative glances, erotic caresses, and tender encounters of previous works, the artist now moves toward anguished bodies and spaces that scream. Through a multifaceted gaze and precision-driven printmaking, humanity is captured as despairing, fearful, and tormented, yet simultaneously struggling and hopeful. At the same time, the human appears as an ecological destroyer through the mournful eyes of animals, depicted as destitute and alienated.

Mavrodoglou’s works combine the expressive richness of contemporary themes with the clarity and austerity of composition, presenting new pieces created through techniques such as hard ground etching, aquatint and linocut. Adopting a unique and purely personal printmaking style, her works are distinguished by the detailed linear depiction of forms that occupy the larger part of the composition. Human figures dominate as central personas, either alone or in dialogue with stylized architectural depictions reduced to basic geometric shapes, serving as visual connotations of the fragmented personality of the person of today.

This new body of work is fueled by the condition of our times and the material of everyday life, translating the social and psychological vibrations of today into images. The lived contradictions of contemporary existence and social alertness are expressed through harsh black-and-white contrasts and a nervous line that becomes a vehicle for feelings and thoughts, revealing the artist’s worldview. Bodies towering like raised fists, hunched figures, faces with traditional veils, and the semiology of a bird, a balloon, or tightly interlaced fingers, loudly convey the creator’s intent for a social and spiritual awakening that has become an urgent necessity. Her works are articulated as forms of reaction, balancing between despair and hope, which inevitably define the emotional impact of current human experience.

Exhibition Text: Dimitra Kyriazi, Sculptor – Art Historian

Biography

Valentini Mavrodoglou (born in Athens in 1989) is a visual artist, educator, and illustrator. In 2007 she began her studies in the Fashion Design industry at Pan-Sic Scuola di Moda. She continued her training in Graphic Design Arts at IEK Praxis, and finally graduated from the School of Fine Arts of the University of Western Macedonia in Florina with a Master’s Degree in Fine Art & Printmaking. Her artworks have been presented in 9 solo exhibitions and many more group exhibitions all over the globe.Also her work can be found in private and public collections around the world. She is the secretary of the Greek Printmakers’ Association since 2022. She works and lives in Athens.

Facebook: Valentini Mavrodoglou | Instagram: Vale Agapi | Tik Tok : Valentini Mavrodoglou

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ETCH INK art space

16 Argyroupoleos St., Lycabettus, 114 71, Athens
Opening: Friday, April 24, 18:30 – 22:30
Exhibition Duration: 24 April – 30 May, 2026
Opening Hours: Wednesday – Thursday – Friday: 18:00 – 21:00 & Saturday: 11:00 – 15:00
Contact: [email protected] | www.athens-printmaking.com