Broken & Iridescently Healing, By Maria Burundarena

Maria Burundarena is an interdisciplinary artist, currently developing site-specific interventions using projections and manipulated printed images. Born in 1989 in France, María's upbringing took place in Argentina, where she completed a degree in Fashion and Textile Design from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU).

Her next show will be in Chicago from May 14-22, as part of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Master of Fine Arts graduate exhibition. In this interview, we talked about her methods, new projects, and how growing up in different countries influenced her work.

Studio Chicago (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) - 2022

“I honor broken surfaces that speak to the passage of time and the memory of the action.”

Founded shell - La Pedrera, Uruguay

How would you describe your creative method?

The feeling of surprise works as a trigger to initiate and motivate my inquiries. It’s like walking on the beach and finding a snail with an iridescent interior that transports me into a tunnel of color. Or in the city, where posters are printed on paper that emanate light through contrast, creating random and unexpected combinations. I seek to seduce and confuse the viewer through objects and installations. I always work with a sketchbook that I load with words and images, and then my process is based on experimentation with materials. I use photography, collage, and projection to cut out and reassemble pieces of my reality. By compressing gestures, messages, and secrets, I honor broken surfaces that speak to the passage of time and the memory of the action. When I find a technique that interests me, I look for a way to systematize the process through repetition to remove prejudices when creating. At the end of a project, I document and write down what I did as a way of understanding my work.

2020 - NY

What are you working on nowadays?

Nowadays I am working on a series of site interventions in which the space is wrapped by images that are filtered, printed, and sometimes projected. The work is the image itself and its interaction with the space, creating a visceral experience of being expelled or even absorbed by it (the image).

Rota, 2021, Chicago

What's the role that media technologies and the digital space have in your work? What new digital or analog tools are you using?

My practice is a mashup between analog and digital processes, allowing the work to be experienced and translated in multiple ways. The analog tools that I use are screen print, thermodiffusion, and collage. Then, I use digital tools to manipulate, animate, and project still or moving iterations of the images from analogue “the real-life”.

Rota, 2021, Chicago.

You are from Buenos Aires, and currently studying in Chicago. What has the experience of being an immigrant in the United States taught you so far? Do you seek to translate your heritage into your work?

I was born in France and then raised in Argentina, so I believe that moving through cultures has always been a part of my way of being and living in the world. I translated and exhibited in different places, which made me see and talk about my work in different ways. Moving to the United States has also impacted my way of thinking, and the way I perceive myself in the world.

I don’t believe that I consciously translate my heritage into my work, it is rather a series of unconscious decisions that appear in the selection of materials, the way I perceive color, my practice, my rituals, and my way of existing.

Homage to a broken wall.

How do you manage to stay organized, productive, and hopefully also mentally balanced?

As I am currently attending an MFA program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the organization of my weeks has to be disciplined in terms of making art, attending, and working at school. I usually plan my week on Sundays with realistic goals, deadlines, and tasks. Besides this, I also have designated times to do yoga, see my therapist, and take care of the domestic life. Something I learned is that if I work without taking time for myself I usually end up burned out and this has a negative impact on my life and practice. In moments that I feel most stressed, I go out for a walk to allow myself to breathe and disconnect from the craft.

Es heat press plastic necklace.

You are an educator - you worked at FADU - and now you are teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where you are also studying. What is the relationship between students and colleagues? What is the challenge of teaching in an artistic environment?

Between the years 2015 and 2018 I worked as a teacher in the program of Fashion and Textile Design (Chair: Saltzman) at the University of Buenos Aires (FADU). Last year, 2021, I had the chance to work as a teaching assistant in the course Print into Sculpture (Profesor: Amy Yoes) within the program of Fiber and other Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Creating and teaching in academic spaces has always been a nourishing activity for my practice and life. Through the projects of students, I am able to keep learning while simultaneously meeting great professors who can later become advisors.

Studio in Buenos Aires, 2017

We talked about how professionals that graduated from FADU have a unique method and an outstanding work ethic. Could you tell us about it for those folks that are not familiar with the Faculty?

I believe that summarizing the methodology and the experience of studying at FADU is impossible because of the complexities that this Institution carries. One of the things that is very important to know is that the University of Buenos Aires is a public university and one of the most prestigious in Latin America, but has a low budget. Despite this, UBA gathers thousands of professors with outstanding careers that are there because of their true passion for teaching. This enthusiasm creates an environment that is very particular and that I haven’t seen in other universities.

The weaknesses become strengths and are nourished by the non-homogeneous student population. The results of the work are amazing. As a teacher and a student, I’ve seen many great works made out of nothing.

“Allow yourself to make things that are not great ideas”.

Would you like to add something?

Allow yourself to make things that are not “great ideas”. Fine art conversations bore me and sometimes don't help the work develop. Everyone has an opinion but at the end of the day, your intuition is what matters.

If you are around Chicago during May 14 - 22 please come see the MFA graduate show at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (33 E Washington St) where I will be showing my graduating thesis piece alongside the wonderful work of my peers.

Cubo Bafici, 2019, Buenos Aires.

︎ MY LOVE TO DISTORTION BY SHIS UNUSUAL

Broken & Iridescently Healing, By Maria Burundarena

“I honor broken surfaces that speak to the passage of time and the memory of the action.”

“Allow yourself to make things that are not great ideas”.