Maria Appleton

Maria Appleton (b.1997) is a textile artist based in Lisbon.

Questioning the subjectivity present in urban systems, Maria Appleton’s practice finds its material form an ongoing research of colour and form developed through multiple techniques of dyeing, weaving and printmaking. Her pieces unravel as chromatic in-prints onto a juxtaposition of layered cotton, silk and other industrial fabrics, defining a series of vibrant abstract transparencies.

Probing architectural conceptions of space, she defies human perception by translating optic perspectives and tracking bodily movements. Appleton delves into the dialogue established through the interaction of bodies in space, two elements that endure in a constant symbiotic relationship of metamorphosis with light. She sees the viewer as an active participant in the conception of the object itself, involved in a progressive sensorial experience open to interpretation.

Speculating on the nature of liminal spaces, a stage of emotional or physical alienation, her production merges multiple layers of geometric codes that together create cartographic compositions connected to conscious spaces of collective memory. Traversed by subversive political tensions dealing with climate awareness, social injustices, current economic systems and technological evolution the artist includes urban elements such as posters, logos and statements complemented by critical symbolisms such as a woven thick black stripe which interrupts the work itself, as a moment of pause or grief. The artist negotiates tangible presence and symbolic absence in her compositions, meaning to trigger memories, dreams or physical sensations. Appleton chains, through these methods, a set of pulsing experiences, meant to trigger a part of an universe where the architecture of public and private meet.