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Her Book - Maíra Senise
Her Book
By Maíra Senise
Glazed Ceramic
8” x 5” x 5”
2020
Artist Statement: My work consists of painting, sculpture, video, performance and installation. The paintings and sculptures emerge as part of an imaginary space that blends together disconcerting fables and everyday feminine ornaments. It interrupts the passivity of a universe—which is childish only in appearance—by constructing deviations from the form and intertwining the human and the animal. I feel an incessant need to bring known figures somehow, and I do this either in a diluted way or more explicitly so, in my path towards abstraction. The abstraction I seek is one that does not evade figurativeness, it insists on a different construction in which what we see cannot be recognized or identified because it remains within the inorganic, unimagined world conceived. Abstract and figurative visual languages merge. These figures are humorous but actually exist in an eerie and violent universe, where things are destroyed and abandoned. All materials are valid, from oil and acrylic to glitter, shampoo bottles, nail polish and everything in between. I work with everyday symbols to create complex abstract environments: houses, flowers, hands, among others. It resembles a space between the childish and primitive, and most of all it brings to the drawing the means of learning and desire of representation. I give myself a lot of space to find accidental events while working, and I rely on these events to guide my process. I leave clues for myself. I am really attracted to this line between the figurative and the abstract-- how a few marks can transform everything.
Artist Bio: Maíra Senise was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and has lived in New York since 2015. During her childhood, she spent several years in Bogotá, Colombia. Back in Rio de Janeiro, she earned a degree in Industrial Design from PUC-Rio and worked for several years as a fashion and pattern designer for various Brazilian brands. During that time, she also began developing her art practice. Her work combines painting, sculpture, video, and installation.
In addition, Maíra creates jewelry, home goods, and apparel under the brand Pink Session. For years, she has sought to integrate her art practice with these creations, often encountering a tension between the two. This tension is especially apparent in how art is valued in comparison to what is considered functional or decorative. She looks forward to continuing to blend both practices and explore their boundaries.
“My work lives at the intersection of craft, utility, and art. I’m interested in objects that resist strict categorization—pieces that may feel familiar and functional yet carry the aura of something more personal and symbolic. I'm drawn to the different material values attributed to art pieces versus craft or artesanato, and what that reveals about the capitalist market structures we live within. I believe this connects closely with the concept and proposal that Salad Days is exploring.”
-Maíra Senise, Queens NY.
Her Book
By Maíra Senise
Glazed Ceramic
8” x 5” x 5”
2020
Artist Statement: My work consists of painting, sculpture, video, performance and installation. The paintings and sculptures emerge as part of an imaginary space that blends together disconcerting fables and everyday feminine ornaments. It interrupts the passivity of a universe—which is childish only in appearance—by constructing deviations from the form and intertwining the human and the animal. I feel an incessant need to bring known figures somehow, and I do this either in a diluted way or more explicitly so, in my path towards abstraction. The abstraction I seek is one that does not evade figurativeness, it insists on a different construction in which what we see cannot be recognized or identified because it remains within the inorganic, unimagined world conceived. Abstract and figurative visual languages merge. These figures are humorous but actually exist in an eerie and violent universe, where things are destroyed and abandoned. All materials are valid, from oil and acrylic to glitter, shampoo bottles, nail polish and everything in between. I work with everyday symbols to create complex abstract environments: houses, flowers, hands, among others. It resembles a space between the childish and primitive, and most of all it brings to the drawing the means of learning and desire of representation. I give myself a lot of space to find accidental events while working, and I rely on these events to guide my process. I leave clues for myself. I am really attracted to this line between the figurative and the abstract-- how a few marks can transform everything.
Artist Bio: Maíra Senise was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and has lived in New York since 2015. During her childhood, she spent several years in Bogotá, Colombia. Back in Rio de Janeiro, she earned a degree in Industrial Design from PUC-Rio and worked for several years as a fashion and pattern designer for various Brazilian brands. During that time, she also began developing her art practice. Her work combines painting, sculpture, video, and installation.
In addition, Maíra creates jewelry, home goods, and apparel under the brand Pink Session. For years, she has sought to integrate her art practice with these creations, often encountering a tension between the two. This tension is especially apparent in how art is valued in comparison to what is considered functional or decorative. She looks forward to continuing to blend both practices and explore their boundaries.
“My work lives at the intersection of craft, utility, and art. I’m interested in objects that resist strict categorization—pieces that may feel familiar and functional yet carry the aura of something more personal and symbolic. I'm drawn to the different material values attributed to art pieces versus craft or artesanato, and what that reveals about the capitalist market structures we live within. I believe this connects closely with the concept and proposal that Salad Days is exploring.”
-Maíra Senise, Queens NY.