Born and raised in Lisbon, Mariana (1985) comes from a family of artists. Her childhood was surrounded by paint brushes and drawings and it was her mother that nurtured, at first the curiosity and later the raw talent, from a very young age. Mariana’s childhood nurtured her adventurous streak and love for the outdoors- swimming in the sea and climbing trees are the cornerstones of her early memories, only spoilt by a bad asthma condition that resulted in many sleepless nights painting and escaping the darkness with color.
After highschool, it was time to decide what path to take next. Even though drawing was the one constant in her life she felt this couldn’t possibly be a career (right?) so instead Mariana majored in Marketing Management and later started a Masters in Territorial Management which she dropped soon after.
It was when Mariana was 23 that her life changed unexpectedly. Mariana lost her mother and five years later her father. She turned to traveling to find her peace, visiting Thailand and Cambodia whilst volunteering in an Elephant Sanctuary. At 25 Mariana had her first child, the result of a 7 year relationship that ended shortly after. But happiness was always in Mariana’s destiny and soon she met the love of her life, her husband, partner and father to two other beautiful children.
For the last years her children and family have been her primary focus and priority in life, her children the biggest joy in Mariana’s life.
Mariana’s imagination and creativity never left her, they were just in a corner of her heart waiting for her to be ready.
The day Mariana left her youngest son in daycare was the day Mariana felt an unfamiliar sense of freedom. Suddenly the fact she had no career to go back to nor the fact her circumstances were unlike her friends and family didn’t cause her any anxiety. Instead Mariana picked up a pencil and started to draw. The world then gave her some unexpected encouragement- a friend gave her some new brushes with a water reservoir and her husband bought her first watercolour case.
She soon realized that drawing was what she wanted to do. Draw, paint, create - every day.
As soon as Mariana started showing her drawings, the support and reaction was overwhelming. Requests from friends and family started pouring in, as well as other orders from word of mouth, mainly requesting custom illustrations. This was all the encouragement Mariana needed to grow in confidence and begin her journey as an artist.
Mariana’s style, for now, is eclectic and exploratory. Whilst she explores her style and technique Mariana unravels different layers of creativity and explores new dimensions of her personality. Mariana’s journey is a marathon, not a sprint, she can’t promise consistency of work and content going forward but invites you to be part of this journey.
Welcome to Mariana’s world.
EDUCATION
2002/6, Marketing Management at IPAM - Marketing School for Business
2006, Dirección de Empresas, ERASMUS, at Universidade Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid
2007, Territorial Management 1st semester at NOVA Universidade de Lisboa
2007/8, Life drawing lessons at Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa
2018, Life drawing lessons at St. Julian’s School
2019, Life Sculpture Course at St. Julian’s School
2019, Oil Painting Course at St. Julian’s School
2019/2021, Painting full program at Ar.Co - Centro de arte & Comunicação visual
EXHIBITIONS
2019, “O Condão de ser pequenino”, Biblioteca Arquitecto Cosmelli Santana, Lisbon, Portugal
2019, “MAR”, La Maison by Amora, Lisbon, Portugal
2020, “PULL THROUGH ISOLATION”, CafEDias, Lisbon, Portugal
ART RESIDENCIES
2020, Bombu Minino social cultural project and Bento Oliveira´s Studio, Mindelo, Cabo Verde
Statement
My studio practice mixes painting, drawing, sculpting, collage and raw forms of etching such as monoprinting and woodcut. Always finding beauty in the unconventional and with a keen interest on recycling waste, don´t be surprised to find me digging in garbage at construction sites or "treasure hunting" at the beach for objects and materials that catch my eye and meet some of my ideas.
I’m most inspired by everyday life, people and nature, with maybe the sea in the spotlight; but my previous experiences in live, childhood memories, loss and a consequent "joie de vivre" that coexists with a certain melancholy also tend to appear on many of my abstrat paintings.
Constantly playing with colour and texture in this hide and seek game, my pieces often reveal a sense of calmness, peace and light when finished, although many times there are emotional storms and chaos in the under layers. My work comes many times as calming and enlightening to my collectors.
All copyrights reserved to Mariana Horgan ®
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