Maya is a ceramist who lives and works between Berlin (where she was born in 1975) and the Alentejo – two places with apparently opposing tempos, sociocultural contexts and visual influences. She unites these contrasts in both, her artistic work and her persona.
Maya’s ‘Movement Miniatures’ – little women in motion – convey how much fun she has in taking clay into her hands and giving body to these cheerful and powerful figures, made while the artist herself moves through space. ‘Beasts of The Urban Wilderness’ – life-size busts of anthropomorphic animals – are wild and tender beings who tell contemporary urban fables, and elegantly invite us to reflect on the animal-like in humans (and vice versa). Fascinated by the interaction of earth, water, air and fire, Maya indulges in ceramic processes, plays with chance, follows the suggestions of her movement and material, and creates unique sculptures of great expressiveness and sensitivity.