Stella Kapezanou’s practice explores the complexities of the human subject, with her paintings capturing a range of human interactions often set in socially charged or intimate spaces. Each work forms a multilayered visual narrative that invites viewers to confront the nuances of identity, portraying women who navigate intricate emotional landscapes through a paradoxical sense of “cold intimacy”—a tension between closeness and detachment in modern western societies. Set against the backdrop of social gatherings or enclosed spaces, her scenes blend light, shadow, color, and gesture, balancing technical sophistication with caustic humor to critique social norms around gender, identity, and interpersonal power. Kapezanou’s elaborate compositions and skillful painting technique showcase defiant or haughty gazes that emerge from naked and semi-naked bodies framed against wallpaper-like landscapes, surrounded by symbolic objects, enigmatic animals, and obscure elements, echoing the contradictions found in contemporary life. Alongside her painting, she creates sculptural objects in ceramic that reflect the recurring motifs, narratives and aesthetics present throughout her practice.
At its core, her art discusses the darker dimensions of femininity that often remain hidden, revealing elusive aspects of the self through subtle movements and gestures. By addressing themes such as fragility, desire, and control, her work confronts the discomfort associated with breaking societal norms. In this context, femininity is neither passive nor nurturing; it is direct, transgressive, and capable of defying expectations, drawing attention to its inherent contradictions as tools of empowerment and self-definition. By constructing a personal visual language and symbolic metaphors, she engages viewers in narratives that underscore themes like vulnerability and autonomy. Kapezanou’s artistic practice aims to develop a world that is simultaneously evolving and confrontational—so transforming, so assertive, and at the same time, arrogantly charming.
