For centuries, women have had many roles to play. The wife, the daughter, the mother, the maid, the cook, the nurse and countless other roles that have gone unloved and unappreciated. History has loved nothing more than to try and scrub away a women’s touch and the important roles in which they’ve played but no longer can a woman be silenced into submission. History cannot continue to repeat itself and so it’s time for women to rise up and reclaim their status as goddesses, saints and warriors in ‘Daughters of Eve’, a brand new exhibition at Quirky Fox Gallery.
‘Daughters of Eve’ will feature a star cast of creatives including Italian pop surrealist painter and illustrator Rossella Paolini. In an exclusive interview, I catch up with Rossella to learn more about her process whilst preparing for this exhibition, the many women who inspire her and her contributions to the show.
‘Daughters of Eve’
Opening reception: 2 July 2025 from 5pm
Exhibition dates: 2 July – 12 August 2025
Quirky Fox
162 High Street, Hawera, New Zealand 4610
For more information on the exhibition including viewing and purchasing online please visit Quirky Fox’s website or email them at hello@quirkyfox.co.nz
About ‘Daughters of Eve’
‘Daughters of Eve’ celebrates women in history, literature and mythology. The ones who history has overlooked or ignored, whose work has been attributed to males or who inspire us to be better and to believe in our own strength: from goddess like Athena, Hecate, or Sekhmet; warriors and leaders like Boudicca or Olga of Kiev; diplomats and rulers including Kubaba or Cleopatra; trailblazers, scientists, and rule breakers
We encourage artists to use their own female hero’s as the subject regardless of their place in history or the culture they come from. Works in the exhibition may be any size or medium. The use of AI is prohibited at all stages including concept design and final image. As the exhibition is to be a celebration of women, a portion of the sales will be donated to Women’s Refuge, a New Zealand organisation supporting women and children experiencing family violence.
Interview with Rossella Paolini
To kick off this interview, how are you feeling as ‘Daughters of Eve’ approaches? Excited? Nervous? A mixture of both?
I’m mostly feeling very grateful! I’m not feeling all that nervous and I’m definitely excited to see so many beautiful works featuring amazing women!
What do you hope people can take away from viewing the ‘Daughters of Eve’ exhibition and more specifically from viewing your works in the show?
I’m sure they will see works that represent feminine figures through the historical eras, the many myths and legends and of course the beauty and uniqueness of it all! There are many heroines that I would have loved to represent in my pop surrealist style, but I chose two warriors with supernatural powers, the very famous saint Joan of Arc and the goddess Athena! I like to let the spectators grasp and speculate are the symbolism included and look upon these two extraordinary figures who’ve made history and who continue to be steeped in legend and magic!
Who are some of the goddesses, warriors and saints who inspire you? And do they inspire you purely from an artistic standpoint or are they inspirations in your everyday life?
Good question, I could talk about this subject for hours!!! During my first exhibition, way back in 1988, I included an artwork featuring the goddess Lilith with a black cat and the piece sold right away! Throughout my artistic life, I have created many renditions of these feminine figures. For example, in 2016, I created my personal exhibition ‘Goddesses in Trieste’ where I represented Indian, Egyptian, Aztec, Greek, Babylonian and Celtic figures. More recently, for an online exhibition, I created a piece of the Roman goddess Fortuna.
When discussing the topic goddesses, Athena is among my favourites, in fact she’s the last one that I painted! As for the saints, they are a more recent passion of mine but they tend to be very popular in surrealist pop art! Aesthetically they are very beautiful to paint but unfortunately in their lives they always met a tragic end. All of these strong warriors, saints and goddesses inspire myself and my life because we, as women, all have a huge amount of creative potential, we just need to be more attuned to it!
Your paintings ‘Saint Agata’ and ‘Saint Lucia’ depict your interpretation of Agatha of Sicily and Lucia of Syracuse. Can you tell me more about what drew you to these Saints and why you chose to immortalise them in your own style?
What drew me to them was definitely the aesthetic factor! These saints are beautiful to paint and eyes and breasts are a widely used detail within pop surrealism. I also love including details such as the halos, palms and lilies that are often found within their imagery. I have a book on the Saints which includes many historical figures that I draw inspiration from alongside collecting ‘holy cards’, especially those of Madonna.
How do you approach preparing for a new exhibition? Do you have a routine you like to follow during the lead up to a show?
My routine is always the same! I start with an initial idea that’s inspired by the theme of the exhibition and begin researching through my many books including esoteric and historical encyclopedias, fairy tales and legends, illustrated books, illustrated biographies of artists I love! I rarely do research on the internet.
Then of course, based on the ideas I have and the needs of the gallery I choose the right materials required to develop my idea. Materials can vary for each piece, it could be on canvas or paper, in only acrylic or mixed media, with or without a frame, etc. After this process is complete, I enter into my fantasy world and let myself be guided by my imagination and passion. It is always a real joy for me to work on a new exhibition!
