BIOGRAPHY

I was born and raised in St. Helena, a small town in the country side of Brazil. I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000 with my husband and my three children, dreaming of a better life and to built my career. I have always loved art and creativity. In the United States I also found inspiration and continued my exploration as an artist while working to maintain a home and support my family.

In Brazil, before I became a painter, I owned a clothing factory where I created my own brand. That gave me a taste of what I really love, creation, colors, textures, paints ... I started to paint because I had this uncontrollable desire, this yearning for something bigger, where I felt I had no limits to fulfill my artistic passion.

Over the years, I've studied with great artists who taught me a lot about their own art. This enriched my knowledge and at the same time allowed me to create my own identity as an artist. Once here in the United States, I was enchanted by new and unusual techniques. All this, which I consider to be a fantastic trip, has contributed to my becoming the artist I am today.

INSPIRATION

The world, nature, the arts, my family, my friends, my country and my history are all my inspirations. I can see coconut fibers and palm leaves from the Brazilian rainforests in my abstract paintings. I can see dust and stones from the sidewalk where I used to walk barefoot as a child. I can also see how the colored traces and splashes of paint remind me of the beautiful carnival costumes, as well as I can understand why I am constantly immersed in changing materials and techniques when I am painting. This unconscious and uncompromising process, this free and at the same time adventurous and nostalgic language, Inspires me and makes me become one with my work. My feelings are my own inspiration. This is my personal journey, my emotional narrative, which I translate to the screen.

TECHNIQUE

My process is also intuitive and free of meanings. I let the paintings speak with me as I go painting and I stop when they tell me to stop. I’m always exploring and evolving as an artist. I use different techniques that I’ve learn over time with my masters and through my curiosity. I explore the beauty of color and texture. I shape the surface of my paintings by pouring, pasting, scraping, remodeling, overlaying with paint and materials.

I use a vast variety of organic substances like charcoal, inks, acrylics, oils, oil sticks, pigments and I layer them over and over to build an intriguing sense of depth. Saw dust, coffee grounds, marble powder and other natural composts help me to enrich my textures. The movements of the brush and the application of materials come to me spontaneously. I throw, drip and splash paint in the canvas freely. My painting process has it's own life. Life that I am part of - my own life.

chronology

NAME: Mara Galvao

BORN: 1959 Santa Helena de Goias, Brazil

2000 Moved to San Francisco Bay Area, California

EDUCATION:

1979 Objetivo College - Goiania Brazil

1997 Organizacoes Jaime Camara, Brazil

1998 Private Study - Lucy Beralda, Brazil

Private Study - Vania Ferro, Brazil

Private Study - Cleia Costa, Brazil

1999 Private Study - Espaco das Artes, Brazil

1999 Private Study - Dilma A., Brazil

2007 Private Study - Martha Castillo, Palo Alto, CA, USA

2011 Private Study - Mira White, Richmond, CA, USA

EXHIBITIONS

SOLO

2019 Fourth Street Fine Art, Berkeley, CA, USA

2009 James Gray Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA, USA

1999 Espaco das Artes Gallery, Brazil

GROUP

2018 Fourth Street Fine Art, Berkeley, CA, USA

2011 Embler Beitler Gallery, Miami, FL, USA

2010 Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA, USA

2009 James Gray Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA, USA

2009 Fourth Street Fine Art, Berkeley, CA, USA

2008 A-Forest Gallery, New York, NY, USA

2008 The Lenox Gallery, Fulham, London, England

2003 Exquisite Art Gallery, Monterrey, CA, USA

2001 Albany Art Gallery, Albany, CA, USA

1999 Espaco das Artes Gallery, Brazil

1999 Epoca Decoracoes, Brazil

1998 Lobby San Francisco Hospital, Brazil

1997 Organizacoes Jaime Camara, Brazil

ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT/TEACHING

1980-1990 Clothing Design - Spref Confeccoes, Brazil

1990-1995 Clothing Design - Arb Traje Confeccoes, Brazil

AWARDS / COMMISSIONS

2000 Ronda G. mural, Oakland, CA, USA

2000 Jeff Mertens, paintings and Mural, Berkeley, CA, USA

2002 Patricia Wilson, Walls, Richmond, CA, USA

2007 Karen Cole , mural, floorcloths, furniture, El Sobrante, CA, USA

CURRENT REPRESENTATIONS / AFFILIATIONS:

Fourth Street Fine Art, Berkeley, CA, USA

Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA, USA