Born in Maues, Amazonas state, Brazil in 1930. She moved to Rio de Janeiro when very young; where she later enrolled as a student of the School of Fine Arts at the National University. After her marriage to Colombian architect Ernesto Patiño Barney she moved to Colombia and settled in Cali, where she has been one of the most important members of the avant-garde and the artistic community of that country.
Her work has passed through several stages: The first, using oil on canvas and inspired by the Andean mountains that strongly impressed her, culminated in a search for natural elements, using materials such as soils, sands, the stones at the bottom of streams, and in general, materials that allude to the beginning of things. This was followed by a long search into the possibilities of new materials, acrylics, fiberglass, glass, a combination of wood and steel, tenses and photographs, with which innovative works are produced. She represented Colombia with one of these works at the 7th Art Biennial in Sao Paulo in 1963.
Finally, returning to her origins, she begins to work again with oil on canvas on a theme that she would call the Amazon series, in which she depicts the world of the tropical rain forest, presenting us with a modern and fascinating personal view of the vast universe of the South American forest. This series will earn her international recognition.
Maria Thereza has not stopped painting, keeping herself renewed and vigorous. Her work has been recognized by the public and critics in the United States, Europe, Japan, the Middle East and, of course, in several Latin American countries.
Germán Patino, Historian.
Exhibits
Critics
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