Interview

Dec 7

Maria Leite

Maria Leite earned a Fine Arts bachelor’s degree from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in 1996. She worked as a set designer until 2005, when she moved to the USA. Between 2005 and 2017, Maria completed a Master’s degree in Special Education, a Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a Doctor degree in Curriculum and Diversity Studies. Maria currently works as director of institutional assessment at the University of Florida. In this position, Maria connects her assessment, diversity and artistic skills by being involved in assessment and diversity task forces, and initiatives that intersect with art-based approaches for mindfulness. Maria has presented at national and international conferences. Her research interests include curriculum and assessment, social justice in education, art-based approaches for mindfulness, and decolonizing art education.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I studied theater and became a set designer. My experience with set design served as a solid foundation for my academic and professional journey since I moved to the United States in 2005. For a long time, I was concerned about defining myself as an artist of a single medium or specific style. Before I went to Fine arts school, I took painting classes and embarked into the Impressionist journey. I still have a lot of paintings showing landscapes, still life, old buildings in Brazil, but I knew I wanted something different. I just did not know what. When I was accepted into the Fine Arts program at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, I had the opportunity to experience a whole new world. My fine art school experience and the years I worked as a set designer - and set design teacher in the public school system - equipped me with many skills, which surely supported my academic and professional evolution in the U.S. During these almost 20 years in the U.S, I explored many versions of my “self” just to circle back to my most essential practice, Art. In 2020, I deliberately engaged in daily drawing in a mix of mindfulness and art practice, this systematic repetition pushed me to join art communities around town, and that was my official re-entry in the arts.”

What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?

“Many of my pieces have a sociopolitical narrative, and a lot of my academic work is infused with photography as an additional research method. During my doctoral studies, I spent considerable amount of time in archives and cemeteries researching the history of Civil War, segregation, and Civil Rights years in the city of Pensacola, Florida. Oppression, in its many forms, is a common theme in my art. In some of my pieces, I criticize the history of disorganized urban development that often results in removal of entire communities - often composed by Afro descendants - to make space for luxurious apartments and new gentrified neighborhoods. In another series - Migrant - The Rough Texture of a Tough Life - I intended to portrait the faces of those often silenced, invisible, and oppressed by unequal social systems, unfair immigration laws, and religious intolerance. “Migrant” (Oil on Canvas 16”x20”) represent the faces of those who struggle in constant movement from one place to another in search for work, better living conditions, religious freedom, or seeking asylum after escaping from wars or authoritarian systems. These are the faces of men and women in the United States, in Brazil, in Palestine, in India, and in any place where humans are subjugated to social caste systems.”

Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?

“I do not always plan. My ideas for pieces come from various sources of inspiration, including my own photography. I do not consider myself a painter, so a big part of the painting ritual involves the freedom to experiment and the understanding that vulnerability is part of the process. I think the planning part consists mostly in deciding which media I will use as the vehicle to create something new. The materials I use may vary from a toilet paper roll and a pristine white canvas. I would not call improvisation. I am not sure I am good at improvising. I do think my art is often intuitive. It is an emotional process even when there is planning involved.”

Are there any art world trends you are following?

“I see that my work has been gradually evolving to purely abstract. I do incorporate social elements, culture and identity to many of my pieces. In some of my pieces I intentionally explore African art, religion and symbolisms. But I feel my work has been gradually moving toward the subversive abstract pathway. I like to quote abstractionist artist Sam Gilliam, who was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and passed in June of 2022 at the age of 88 years old. In an interview, Gilliam was asked how can abstract art be political? His response: “It messes with you. It convinces you that what you think isn’t all. It challenges you to understand something that is different.” Gilliam’s quote resonates with everything I believe in terms of understanding differences, embracing freedom for all, and questioning everything that is presented to us as absolutes.”

What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?

“My process involves experimentation with different materials and ways to produce arts. As a teacher in the public school system in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where public schools have very limited resources, I relied on a lot of creativity to provide my students the experience of producing a theater show. I have worked with a variety of materials from Plastic bags, cardboard boxes, paper machê, recycled furniture and clothing. In the last couple of years I have been doing a lot of photography, collage, and painting, but still cannot resist a good pile of recyclables!”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Incarcerated (2022)
Paper Collage
22’’ x 28’’

What does your art mean to you?

“To me, art means freedom in its most essential definition. It doesn’t matter if you are painting, dancing, playing an instrument; art is the catalyst for expressing emotions that otherwise would have been stuck forever. It is an emotional, psychological, inexplicable process in which one has the power to translate feelings into something outside of themselves.”

What’s your favorite artwork and why?

“I have many favorites, but I tend to like the most recent pieces. My latest series is called “Corners.” In this series, I explored creating abstract spaces using perspectives “disrupted” by flat shapes and paper colleges. I do like the painting series inspired in the Adinkra African symbology from Ghana and those inspired in the African Mithology. These pieces represent a strong connection with the African culture in Brazil, which was always valued, respected , and incorporated to our family practices.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“Since 2021, I have been participating in collective shows involving local artists in the city of Gainesville. In 2022, I was invited to exhibit my work at a community museum and cultural center that used to be the home of a prominent African American teacher, who fought to ensure his students receive a high standard education during racial segregation years in the U.S. This show was important to me because I had the opportunity to share my research on African American communities in a museum located in a historic Black neighborhood in Gainesville. Additionally, the show included paintings and objects produced with recycling material as a way to connect my past and present as an artist.”

Website: cristileite.wixsite.com/photographyamateur

Instagram: @mleite.art