Art by Mara Vsquez

The Art of Maria Vasquez is brave, thought provoking and sensual. Through her images she transports the viewer into a magical world of beauty and daring. Maria's heritage is central to her work which echoes the themes and passions of other contemporary Peruvian artists such as Jhoel Mamani and Andrea Barreda.
Apr 19th, 2023

A fine fine lady and truly remarkable artist. She is alive with passion and infectiously influential with her resilient diligence. I have huge admiration for Maria and her no nonsense outlook. She is a Queen in her field and a Goddess in every light.
Apr 11th, 2023

I like Maria, she is lovely.
May 8th, 2022

Maria is a wonderful, talented and inspiring artist! I highly recommend her - she is just exceptional, a really interesting and beautiful person and her unique work is not to be missed!
Dec 19th, 2021

Brief comment on the 'More than Flesh' exhibition of September 2021: I had been aware of the self-portraiture work of Maria Vasquez for a while but her 'More than Flesh' exhibition @ West Wharf Gallery, Cardiff was my first opportunity to see her work in the 'flesh', so to speak! A fine selection of work, which was a sort of mini-retrospective, with a range of large and medium sized framed photographic images on the gallery walls, supported by a cabinet display of much smaller un-framed limited edition prints, making up the show. For an artist specialising in self portraiture, the range of work was surprisingly diverse with a strong sense of artistic style, consistent photographic technique and quality of image. It's still quite unusual to find a female photographer focusing on self-portraiture with such confidence in her self- expression and femininity. My favourite images were the pair of 'Red Riding Hood & Wolf' [2016] works (one of the artist avoiding the gaze of the wolf and the other of the artist confronting the gaze of the wolf head on) both works with strong narrative and bold, arresting imagery; and the 'In Brugge [2019]' work where the self portrait seemed to take on the ambiance of the location itself. Although the larger works were quite expensive the artist had provided a range of work available in smaller sizes and in various limited editions at a much more affordable prices which was most welcome. Indeed, at the exhibition preview, the artist was even prepared to write a dedication on any purchases made which was a very nice gesture. Although no catalogue was produced, the information provided by the artist was enlightening and she even emphasised the environmental sustainability of the materials used in her work and the longevity of the prints produced. So, a very satisfying show and I'm looking forward to an exhibition of the 'lock-down' self portraiture images, in some form or another, in the near future!
Oct 22nd, 2021