Take Me Somewhere Nice
In Take Me Somewhere Nice, Maria Positano presents a new body of work made from recycled steel structures, selected by the artist during her site visits to salvage yards and scrap metal dealers. These steel structures have been shaped to resemble anthropological forms, and are coated with a variety of aged and malleable materials. A tar-coloured resin compound from the 1980’s, various waxes, acrylic nails and intricate gold gilding give a second lease of life to these once discarded items.
Positano is interested in metamorphoses, drawing on references to ancient Greek legends. There’s Icarus, who famously flew too close to the sun but was also warned that a flight too close to the waves could also seal his fate. The story of the birth of Venus, an icon of beauty who was created from the combination of her father’s discarded genitalia and soapy sea scum. A running thread in Positano’s practice is the sourcing of neglected or abandoned materials, that can be elevated to a higher status, through the artist’s intervention.
Artist
Maria Positano (b.1995) is a visual artist living between Italy and London.
Her works have been featured in art institutions internationally. She has completed her education in London, where she graduated from City and Guilds of London Art School in 2018 and the Royal College of Art in 2023. In 2024, she was awarded the Gilbert Bayes Award from The Royal Society of Sculptors in London, furthermore, in 2023 the artist won the AiR Award at South Thames Colleges Group, London, UK.
Maria has been invited to take part in various international artist residency programs, a few examples include: Sixi Museum, Nanjing, Cina (upcoming); StudioBlock M74, Mexico City, MX; ViaFarini.org in Milan, IT; JETLeg, Munich, GE.
Notable recent exhibitions include: Il Peso del Vuoto, MARec - Museo dell’Arte Recuperata, San Severino nelle Marche (2024); Not from this place, Nashira Gallery, Milan (2024); Studio Responses #4, Saatchi Gallery, London (2024); Matter, Flowers Gallery, London (2023); Beyond the Matter, Galerie Der Kunstler*Innen, Munich (2023); A perfect place, Studio Block M74, Mexico City (2022).
Drawing from her upbringing as a Third Culture Kid, the artist makes work from a sense of cross-cultural kinship, supported by her nomadic lifestyle and often on the move practice. For this reason Maria’s work often is expansive and includes a variety of materials and formats. Her polymorphic work invites new interpretations of protective and defensive devices, reframing histories of violence into practices of human transformation. Her work has been acquired in private collections internationally.