Anna Maria Maiolino was born in Southern Italy and later moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In her artistic practice, Maiolino is known for works in a variety of media, including clay, cement, printmaking, film and performance.

In her early career, Maiolino was involved in several important Brazilian art movements including the New Brazilian Objectivity Movement in the late 1960s, which sought to re-categorize Brazilian art and resist inequalities and growing militarization in the nation.

This aerial shot of Maiolino’s studio is quite beautiful. The artist’s work, combined with the clean, light-coloured space overall lends a lovely, airy quality to the studio and makes me think that this must be a pleasant place to work.

This isn’t to say that Maiolino doesn’t work hard, however -- the artist’s use of ceramics, cement, and other sculptural media is probably quite labour-intensive, and she appears to be intently focused on some creation in this shot.  I enjoy the way that like objects seem to be categorized and grouped together, with the dark-coloured, rounded objects to the artist’s left, and the sheets of white material with black markings that Maiolino is working with. This sense of strict organization lends an undertone of strictness to the space, though the overall calm atmosphere still comes to the forefront.

Maiolino has moved in recent years and is now based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The artist’s works have recently been featured in such high-profile exhibitions as Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany.

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