Maria Positano

Italian, b. 1995

Italian artist Maria Positano creates sculptures which reflect upon the way that we process our surroundings and experiences. She manipulates and controls materials such as bronze, clay, wood and copper, revealing their fundamental and structural core. Viewers are invited to engage with these objects both as something familiar (in their materiality) yet also uncanny (in their unexpected appearance).

Positano often uses her own body to explore its orientation in relation to the work, which is observed as a magnetic field that attracts or repels, favours performance or codifies interactions. By placing herself directly within the work she refers to the notion of the artist/maker as a shaman-like figure, physically revealing themselves, yet never quite giving everything away.

Her relationship to her own practice, to some extent, leads to self-discovery. As a result, it encourages the viewer to look both at and through the work.