Exhibition

Ultra: to an extreme degree; very. beyond; on the other side of.
Gloss: try to conceal or disguise on a smooth surface.

‘UltraGloss’ is a state of mind. It’s the cover of a book, a logo of a brand, it’s a shop front. It reveals the other side of the subject. It’s here as a result of Maria’s singular drive towards it.

Alongside it- “i’ve been thinking a lot about living in a sick body”, says Maria in a recent e-mail. “Feeling trapped in a shell that doesn’t feel like my own and trying to escape it”.

The urge to ultra gloss comes from the shell itself, to glaze the outer layer; sanding down a cast sculpture; kneeling to an imperfection- under which shelter is found. Momentarily escaping the shell in glossing it over.

The past locations of Maria’s work - church, playground, gym - have merged into a single abstraction. The latest artworks have all inherited a bodily symbolism that binds them to the extremity of ‘UltraGloss’.

It is sweat that unifies the bodies and organs, it is their gloss, their shine; the ritual.