Athena Parella (b. 1995) is an American artist whose work balances wonder with unease. As a child, she believed magic was woven into everyday life—that even ordinary objects held emotions and private thoughts. Losing that belief left a lingering ache that still drives her work.
Her imagery explores memory and nostalgia, creating spaces where the real and imagined overlap. Through subtle distortions and recurring motifs, she invites viewers into moments that flicker between presence and absence, where what's remembered meets what's invented.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 - 39th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, Agora Gallery, NY
2025 - Salut 10, Nucleus Portland, Portland, Oregon
2025 - Drawn, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2025 - Paper, Site: Brooklyn Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
2025 - 2025 Spotlight Showcase, Arch Enemy Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2025 - Dollhouse, Era Contemporary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2025 - Works on Paper, The Gallery at Green and Stone, London, England
2025 - Small Works, Strata Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2025 - Surreal Salon 17, Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2024 - P.S. 9 Postcard Show, Nucleus Portland, Portland, Oregon
2024 - The Shape of Things, BAU Gallery, Beacon, New York
2024 - Beauty in the Ordinary, AVA Center, Gillette, Wyoming
2024 - Salut 9, Nucleus Portland, Portland, Oregon
2023 - Unframed, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, Califiornia
2023 - Summer Camp, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, California
2023 - Nostalgia, District Arts Gallery, Frederick, Maryland
2022 - Memento, Arden Gallery, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, Massachusetts
2022 - Liminal II, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2022 - Artist's Choice, Rhode Island Water Color Society, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
2022 - Providence Art Club National Open Juried Exhibition, Maxwell Mays Gallery, Providence Art Club, Providence, Rhode Island
2020 - SMALL WORKS 7th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Main Street Arts Gallery, Clifton Springs, NY
2019 - Crossroads, Gallery 372, Worcester, Massachusetts
Residencies, Awards and Recognition
2025 - The Flying Fruitbowl Podcast, Episode 109: Athena Parella
2024 - NG Creative Art Residency, Maussane-les-Alpilles, France
2022 - 2nd Place Memento, Arden Gallery, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, Massachusetts
2022 - Award of Merit Providence Art Club National Open Juried Exhibition, Maxwell Mays Gallery, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI