“that’s what she said”: The new exhibition of Sofia Rozaki

A series of experiments in non-binary visual expression that balance between established daily habits and expectations

Zoumboulakis Gallery presents the solo exhibition of Sofia Rozaki entitled “that’s what she said” from 13 February to 15 March 2025, curated by Eleni Michaelides.

According to the curator, “through the title ‘that’s what she said’, the exhibition appropriates a common line with a supposedly unintentional humorous double meaning, suggesting a sexist subtext. This negative verbal cliché is re-appropriated and emphasised by the artist – as an open call for unconventional feminist affinities and relationships to be made more visible and empowered.

Developing her distinctive style of mixed media painting, Rozaki emerged as a major, idiosyncratic talent among the artists of her generation. Her figurative compositions are masterfully balanced between Quaker formalism and surrealism: rich details of everyday gestures, objects and spaces, references to pop culture and art history, and recurring archetypal feminist iconographic elements are combined with an abundance of sweetness, occasional digital glitches and (sub)conscious thoughts, fears and desires. This bold iconography fully exposes the paradoxes of contemporary life, between libertarian pleasure and neoliberal subjugation.

Rozaki’s work creates the space necessary to visually unfold these inevitable complications of another life – as “experiments in imagining otherwise” (Lola Olufemi). A series of experiments in non-binary visual expression that balance between established daily habits and expectations of radical reciprocity that defy heteronormative patriarchal norms.

A few words about the artrist

Sophia Rozaki (b. 1990) studied painting at the Department of Visual and Applied Arts of the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She lives and works in Athens. Her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad, including Art Athina, Art Thessaloniki, Rome International Art Fair, Trento Art Festival, Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Queer Archive Festival, MOMus-Piramatic Arts Centre and the Café of the National Archaeological Museum.

Her work explores alternative narratives around the body, gender, memory, trauma and sexuality. Through hybrid forms and compositions that straddle the boundaries between the real and the dreamlike, her work challenges the dominant binaries of Western thought. With a feminist and queer approach, Rozaki combines personal and collective experience with a wide range of aesthetic references, forming a vulnerably honest and idiosyncratic visual language.