Artist Spotlight - Mara Montagna — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Biography

I'm Mara Montagna and I'm a painter.

I am passionate about painting and in recent years this has become my main activity in which I am trying to develop my personal style. I have always loved painting and drawing since I was little, but my school and work paths led me to teaching for 42 years.

Energia, 2018, 91 x 146 cm. acrilico su tela

I managed to bring painting back into my life by attending evening school at the art high school in my city. This was a very nice experience of learning but also of sharing and exchange, which allowed me to give painting a professional look. Becoming a “Maestro d’Arte” legitimized me to consider myself a painter, no longer a hobbyist.

Soraya, 2023, 20 x 20 cm, acrilico e collage su legno

This pushed me to search for my artistic identity. I began to interact with the outside world by having my first exhibitions in local and then national galleries, such as Palermo, Milan, Forlì, Cesenatico, Genoa, Mantua. Receiving positive feedback, I continued to expand into international showcases such as the Luxembourg Art Prize, or the MEAM in Barcelona, also exhibiting with Effetto Arte in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington.

Nel canyon di HocKney, 2024, 60 x 80 cm., acrilico e collage su legno, acrilico e collage su legno

I am present among the artists of the Singulart, Gigarte and Contemporary art curator magazine sites. A space was dedicated to me in the program "The second life, heaven can wait" on Rai3 broadcast on 1 April 2024. Some of my works are published in Italian national art yearbooks and catalogs such as ART NOW and Artisti 2024 and 2025.

Nel tuo respiro, anno 2023, 80 x 80 cm., acrilico e collage su tela.

Artist Statement

Currently my curiosity leads me to seek new paths and, in particular, I use a mixed technique of acrylic and collage with which I manage to create intense images with a rich variety of textures. I'm interested in the combinations I can obtain with the different designs and textures that fabrics mixed with acrylic colors and rhinestones offer me.

Fiori, anno 2022, 80 x 80 cm., acrilico e collage su legno.

I love producing works with bright colors and strong contrasts. My works are both figurative and abstract, often represented in large sizes and on different media. My favorite subjects are a tribute to nature, be they animals, landscapes or flowers.

Il leopardo, anno 2022, 60 x80 cm., acrilico e collage su legno.

Other recurring subjects are female figures who tell their story and their feelings, sometimes I address more current issues that touch me deeply. I like wood, rusty iron, stones and other natural materials that I often include in my works.

www.maramontagna.it
@mara_montagna_