Ekfrasi – Yianna Grammatopoulou presents the solo exhibition of Michalis Arfaras entitled The Power of the Imaginary. 

Michalis Arfaras’s new multimedia exhibition explores the dimension of the Imaginary as a form of visual expression. In art, the Imaginary functions as the counterpoint to the ordinary, the familiar, and the conscious—an area defined in opposition to the real. The Imaginary draws its power from deviation, the transgression of institutions, subversion, and ultimately, the rejection of rules.

As a messenger of Imaginary Art, Michalis Arfaras consciously distances himself from convention and places his trust in his own originality. He creates images within a dynamic, multimedia space that balances between attempt and experimentation.

“His visionary world, unprecedented and mysterious, conceals its own truths and questions among strange figurines and the figures of an enigmatic dancer and a singer […]. Arfaras cuts incisively, rebelling both thematically and formally. He draws inspiration from fairy tales and the lives of others and channels it into the world at large. He possesses a deep understanding of the forces of good and evil, as well as the fact that human nature essentially does not change. Thus, his figures continue to exist among us, as his boundless creative imagination preserves and integrates them into the present, endowing his visual world with a mythical dimension and, at the same time, a continuous present,” notes art critic and art researcher Takis Mavrotas.

The exhibition is accompanied by a continuous video animation screening titled “Henri Heine – Dichterliebe (The Poet’s Love)”.
Sound Composition: Nicolas Christakis

Opening Night: Thursday 12 February , 19:00 – 22:00

Duration: 12 February– 7 March 2026