Maria Spector
Maria Spector · Source: New York Artists Circle · Rights retained by the original rights holders
- Medium
- Acrylic Paint, Gouache, Paper, Watercolor
- Practice
- Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Works on Paper
New York artist Maria Spector has an M.F.A. in Painting from Queens College, an Ed.M. in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard, and a B.A. in Art and Psychology from Binghamton University. She received Indivi… Full biography
Biography
New York artist Maria Spector has an M.F.A. in Painting from Queens College, an Ed.M. in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard, and a B.A. in Art and Psychology from Binghamton University. She received Individual Artist Support Grants from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. She has taken part in museum, gallery, and university shows at the Anchorage Museum, Purdue University Galleries, Islip Art Museum, NUTUREart Gallery, Plaxall Space, and the Knockdown Center. Recently, her work was featured in the exhibits Girlhood at the Howland Center in Beacon, NY, Every Woman Biennial at La Mama La Galleria, and Feminine Identity at St. Joseph’s College Gallery. In addition to creating paintings and multidisciplinary art, she has worked extensively as a curator, juror, and is an active teaching artist. In response to the current coronavirus pandemic emergency, she has accepted a position as a contact tracer in New York State because we need art, we need artists, and we need our galleries, colleges, and museums to gather together in person again.
Artist statement
Hey, little girl, do you want some candy? Hold up your dress to catch it as it falls. There are Sweet Tarts and Tootsie Rolls, Sugar Daddies, and Blow Pops. If you're good and sweet, you can have all the candy you can hold…
Hey, little boy, do you want some candy? Hold out your pockets to catch it as it falls. I have Jolly Ranchers and Atomic Fireballs, Warheads, and Bazooka Gum. If you are good and strong, you can have all the candy you can hold…
Be a good girl and just come a little closer…
Be a good boy and just come a little closer…
I’ll teach you all there is to know.
When children are the focus of a painting, it is easier to engage with difficult concepts, but it is also easier to dismiss the concepts inherent in the work as unimportant or sentimental.
Yet…
The girl that becomes a woman and the boy that becomes a man have a real reason to fear. Violence and sexuality permeate the visual and verbal messages passed down through cultural stories and art history and become further disseminated and embedded in popular culture. We are inculcated in a belief system that is so deeply and stubbornly rooted that we are often unaware of our own biases and beliefs.
There are no accidents in my paintings. My art is made in painstaking detail using gouache on paper. At times, if I find the need, I use digital collage, appropriation, and multidisciplinary projects to reach my artistic vision. When I paint and create I am looking for answers to my own questions and find myself disappointed in my ability to find the answers; this is what drives me forward to make more art.
