Mariana Cordoba is a Colombian-American abstract artist from Miami, FL. Currently living in  London, Mariana focuses on creating colorful, textured paintings and is primarily interested in the formal properties of art-namely layer, line, and texture. 

Mariana views painting as her visual expression of language-her own form of handwriting. She views the canvas as a sheet of paper she’s doodling on, one that she rotates frequently in order to view various perspectives of it. She generally starts painting from the bottom and works her way up. Symbols are significant in her practice, as she draws inspiration from pre-Columbian symbols, reiki, Egyptian symbols, cartoons, doodles from her early childhood, and asemic handwriting. Her practice involves memory and recalling symbols from early childhood. The symbols Mariana creates serve as her own personal code. Doodling unveils opportunities to insert these symbols, each of which carries a very personal meaning for her. Creating her own symbols of very personal significance grants her a newfound sense of agency, along with another avenue through which she can express herself.

Repetition is essential in her practice; she enjoys engaging in the repetitive aspect of her doodles, which allows her to see that the possibilities are endless and that virtually anything can be a symbol. 

Mariana has a specific system she implements to develop her paintings that involves thin layers that slowly build up to thicker layers. She is passionate about exploring the materiality of paint. She’s recently gravitated toward utilizing really small brushes, such as makeup brushes, to incorporate smaller marks and focus on minute details. She enjoys experimenting with various materials in her paint, such as beeswax. She leaves the linen bare and focuses on layer, line, and texture-trying to look at her paintings as if they were graffiti walls. Her most recent paintings generally read as landscapes-often possessing a striking metropolis-like feel to them. 

While painting, Mariana combines a variety of brushstroke styles on canvas and taps into her mind-body connection to determine her technique choices. One might notice that her art tends to leave traces of earlier iterations of themselves-because she paints and then removes paint from each canvas during the creative process. Mariana loves the mystery of what a painting can be and is fascinated by paint, color, the process of layers, and how, through a slow buildup-one can create beauty. Both everyday people and objects with compelling texture, depth, or color inspire Mariana. Although the creative process is central to her focus, it is essential to her that each piece evokes a discernible feeling when viewed.

Education

•      Royal College of Art, Painting MA London, England 2023-2024

•      University of Miami, Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism, Coral Gables, FL 2020-2021

o  University of Miami Bachelors of Arts, Studio Art December 2019

Selected Group Shows

2024

•      Royal College of Art, Painting Degree Show, London, England June 2024

2023

•      Art off The Wall, Coral Gables Museum, Coral Gables, FL March 2023

2022

•      Scope Miami, Miami Beach, FL December 2022

2021

•      Fig Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain, November 2021

•      Ruta de los Puentes, Santander Spain October 2021

•      JustMad Madrid, Spain July 2021

2020

•      Inside Expressions Raw Space, Vero Beach October 2020

•      Green Life, Punta Del Este, Uruguay December 2019 - February 2020

2019

•      Boca Hotel Buenos Aires, Argentina December 2019

•      The Wharf Miami, Florida, USA December 2019

•      Hotel Cottage Carrasco, Montevideo, Uruguay August 2019

2018

•      Pinta Miami, FL December 2018

•      Amor en Acción, Coral Gables, FL May 2018

•      University of Miami Juried Art Show, Coral Gables, FL April 2018

•      Last to Leave, First to Arrive, Coral Gables, FL February 2018

Selected Solo Show

•      BoConcept Punta Del Este, Uruguay January 2020

•      Pinta Miami, Miami, Solo Projects December 2021

•      Inside Mariana’s World, Miami September 2022

Public Collections

•      Fundación Canaria Para el Desarrollo de la Pintura.