Sprouted

This artwork belongs to the series Natureando; an invitation to look at man/nature in close connection; to think and see ourselves as a leaf of the earth, as an infinite texture within it, as a single form with the earth. We have to assemble with nature so that there can be harmony again. It is not that we have been placed in nature, it is that we have emerged from it. And if we woke up our ancestral memory, we would know that we carry the sun inside us, part of the ocean inside us, rivers and mountains, because we are a living cell of this earth, of this universe, and we are earth too. Hence, this painting is a surrealistic face blended with leaves, flowers, trunks, shown as a single metamorphosed form.

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María Peña is a Colombian-Australian visual artist currently based in Melbourne. She studied Bachelor of Fine Arts with major in painting and ceramics at the Art School Academia Superior de Artes in Bogotá, /Colombia; and Doctorate of Fine Arts by research at RMIT University, School of Art in Melbourne. Her practice involves oil paintings on canvas and mural painting. Her career has developed between Australia and Colombia through solo and collective shows, artist in residency programs and specific projects. Up to now she has participated in solo and collective shows in Colombia, Australia, Mexico, China, Italy, India and the United Arab Emirates. Her art has a strong influence from Sub-realism and Magical Realism ideas and referents from visual and cultural theory. Recent awards and recognitions received by Maria Peña include the 2014 Endeavour Award Vitrina de Arte acknowledged by the Alzate Avendaño Foundation and the Ministry of Culture in Bogotá, Colombia; the 2013 Artist in Residency program, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Art Hub, to represent Australia for the Australian Art Month in Abu Dhabi, UAE; the 2013 art exhibition at Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery sponsored by Multicultural Arts Victoria in Melbourne, Australia; the 2011-2012 Artist in Residency program at The Ownership Project, Community artists space in Melbourne, Australia.