“Filo-diffusione”: Two Retrospective Group Exhibitions Presented at Gramma_Epsilon Gallery

On Thursday, November 13, the group exhibition “Filo-diffusione” opens in Athens at Gramma_Epsilon Gallery.

The exhibition draws inspiration from the women’s shows organized by Mirella Bentivoglio in the 1980s, which revolved around the theme of the thread (filo), reactivating and recontextualizing that research in the present day.

It brings together works by both historically significant women artists many of whom participated in Bentivoglio’s exhibitions over forty years ago and younger creators who have embraced similar inquiries, evolving them through time and with new artistic media.

Starting from a retrospective approach that allows for a free and open reading of the works, the project unfolds across two distinct exhibitions.
The first, “Filo-diffusion_Ə” (November 13, 2025 – January 31, 2026), gathers works in which the use of thread is linked to an inner exploration, a dive into the archetypal dimension of the maternal (mater).

In these works, there is a visible desire to explore the inner world to construct an autonomous and stable identity that does not reject the traits which historically confined women to stereotypical roles, but rather, through a shift in perspective, transforms them into sources of strength.

The second exhibition, “Filo-diffusion_&” (February 5 – March 28, 2026), represents the point of this transformation: here, the artists move with freedom and confidence within the realm of logos, using the thread as a tool of narration, protest, and memory to tell stories, denounce injustice and violence, “weave the world,” and preserve continuity and remembrance.

The division between the two exhibitions is not chronological but interpretative, creating a dialogue between the works. This dialogue is also reflected in the symbols chosen: the inverted “e” (Ə) and the ampersand (&), which signify inclusion and connection, two foundational principles of the gallery itself. Indeed, the name Gramma Epsilon literally means “the letter e” in Greek.

To mark the occasion, Maria Jole Serreli will create a site-specific installation dedicated to the neighborhood and the building that houses the gallery, originally a textile trading space thus evoking the deep connection between women, thread, and the fabric of Greek cultural identity.