Melbourne artist Soula Mantalvanos will have her work showcased in Tasmania, after being signed and represented by local gallery Penny Contemporary.
Visiting the gallery this month, Ms Mantalvanos says she was taken aback by the similarities Hobart had to her home town and her muse.
“We’ve been embraced and nurtured by this beautiful place and its divine and most friendly locals,” she said on her website.
“It makes us feel a little reminiscent about the old Melbourne actually, but now we can have the best of both worlds with a brilliant reason to visit.”
An artist and graphic designer by trade, Soula went through a life-changing injury seven years ago that forced her to look at her career differently.
In chronic pain, Soula had to learn to paint and draw in five-minute durations, resting to keep her energy that was dwindling thanks to the pain.
“Everything hurts, sound hurts as it affects all your senses, it hurts to be in a busy environment,” she told Neos Kosmos in May.
The trip to Tasmania was more for her health, with Soula even calling it a ‘sabbatical’, not expecting much to come from it career wise.
For more information, visit www.ooi.com.au and pennycontemporary.com.au