NADA Miami 2023

Channeling a stream of consciousness, Maria Calandra pulls from both the real and the imagined, to create paintings that liberate lived experiences from rational boundaries. Born in London and based in Brooklyn, the artist takes inspiration from her walks through nature, during which she observes the repetition in lines and colors across flowering plants, twisted roots and tree trunks, and reflective bodies of water. Calandra received an MFA from Cornell University in 2006 and a BFA from Ohio University in 1999, both in painting, and is currently preparing for a forthcoming solo exhibition at Fredericks and Freiser Gallery, New York. Additionally, she has presented work at venues such as G/ART/EN, Como; GNYP Gallery, Berlin; Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles; Essex Flowers, New York; and Mindy Solomon, Miami; among others.

Time of the Zinnia recounts a time when Calandra visited a farm near Hudson, New York, in which zinnias—favored by the artist for their vibrancy, variety, and peculiarity—bloomed throughout a field. Naturalistic yet psychedelic, the work features bright red flowers surrounded by striations of color that undulate across the pictorial frame. Calandra likens her process to automatism, allowing intuition to guide brush strokes across her canvases and drawing surfaces. Using photographs as a visual springboard to trigger personal memories, she listens to music as she paints, allowing sounds and vibrations to shape the resulting images. The artist will additionally hand embellish the edition by adding two additional zinnia flowers, each placed in a unique position, on each print.