ALESSANDRA MARIA

interview / liz rice mccray

Alessandra Maria was born and raised in Seattle, transplanted to New York for almost a decade and now finds herself in Maui. Alessandra’s finding resonance with Dave Hickey’s theory that America is, at its heart, a pagan nation which builds up its own idols and in turn tears them down. Alessandra’s work attempts to go back to the historic start of iconography and remake it from a feminist perspective.

I’m not sure where to start. We are blown away by your eerie gold-leaf, mixed-media artworks. Will you please tell us about your latest ongoing body of work?
For the past couple years I’ve been really interested in the process of developing my own personal iconography. Having been raised in a very Catholic (and loving) family, I grew up entrenched in that faith, and the notions of what it meant to be an ideal woman. Mary, in particular, was always held up as our role model. The problem with having Mary as an ideal woman is that she is devoid of sexuality and autonomy. So, as I grew and found myself, I separated myself from the church and struggled to come to terms with what I, as a human and woman, should strive to be. My work is an expression of this ongoing search, from a feminist, secular perspective.

What mediums do you mainly work with? Can you give some insight to the conception of these subjects in your paintings?
I started out working with graphite, but about a year ago I transitioned to charcoal in order to get the darks truly black. I work on ink-tinted paper, and with elements of gold leaf throughout.

One element of your painting that affects me greatly is your use of light. How do you create that play of light in your mind?
Because my work lacks color (for the most part), how I light each part of a piece is vitally important to making it come alive. I often try to imagine what lighting in a thick garden looks like, when the sky is almost completely obscured by plants, flowers, leaves, etc. For the figures, I find that using a modern interpretation of sfumato can lend a haunted, living quality. I want the work to feel sacred, like an artifact.

You are “Seattleite,” born-and-raised, abd then you did a stint in New York. Now you just moved to Maui... besides the obvious, why Maui?
Why Maui? Well, I have to dive into what New York was to me first in order to explain. In almost every way New York is my home now and holds the most emotional attachment for me at this point. I cut my teeth there and spent just shy of a decade for what felt like the most formative years of my life. For better or worse, New York wears at your resolve, your self-esteem, your energy, your health (unless, of course, you’re wildly wealthy, in which case you experience all the soft poshness and none of the grinding difficulty). For me, I was unbelievably broke for a while living there, so it was all grind and no glamor; I actually had to walk to the Met from my apartment in Bed Stuy once because there was a show I wanted to study, but I couldn’t afford a metro card.

When you’re confronted with so many spectrums of struggle and achievement, it forces you to look into the mirror and understand what you want out of your own life. You can’t just coast in New York; it’s too difficult and if you don’t have a reason for being there you’ll burn out in two years. So, living there toughened me, and it gave me the fierce desire to make work that was exactly what I wanted to see and nothing less - everyone else’s opinions be damned. It was a vital driving force for me to make good work early on, and I love the city dearly for that.

But, that was about seven years ago. I started to find that the last three years I was enjoying the city a little too much, and the unhealthy, posh things it has to provide. I got tired of having bars as the main activity for the weekend, and I started to desperately miss nature. All the daily challenges didn’t feel so tough anymore (like doing anything for 10 years inevitably will), and the luxuries of amazing rooftop bars and cocktails, shopping, brunch, events, and openings felt a little too soft and privileged. In short, I got comfortable.

Maui was a real wildcard. I didn’t really know what would happen, but I knew it would be a drastic stripping of everything remotely distracting. Few bars, fewer galleries, and I’m sorry, but the restaurants just can’t hold a candle to most of the city. But - it has this profound, spiritual beauty that (to me at least) is unparalleled anywhere in the world... the visual inspiration is almost overwhelming; I feel like I can’t go to the grocery store without getting four ideas for pieces. The weather is always perfect, the mountains are astonishing, I’ve seen tens of flowers I’ve never even heard of before, butterflies every day, and a whole world underwater that is so exciting to explore. Now on Friday nights instead of going to bars I go hiking and get to bed early. I suppose the best way to put it is that it was the most pure way to cut the fat of glamor, drinking, and posh out of my life, and heighten the most important aspect - artistic inspiration and creation.

All of my subjects start as explorations of the iconography I described.

If you’re an artist and you get frustrated with what you create, remember not to beat yourself up; that voice that tells you your work is bad is your standards talking, and it can be your greatest tool if you use it correctly. If you have high standards and you keep chipping away at your work consciously to try to meet them nothing can stand in your way in the long run. And, talent doesn’t exist, no one is special. If you’re determined enough to make great work you have the ability to stand next to the greats. In short - you can do it!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. Very last question... Where can people check out more of your art?
Thank you for the interview! For social media, my Instagram is the most updated - my username is @alessandradraws. My website is www.alessandramaria.com, and my email is alessandra- mariaart@gmail.com.