LOCAL IS BEAUTIFUL

A textile explorer with a curious soul, she mixes textiles, natural fibers and wood to create eclectic sculptures defined by different techniques. "When I travel or walk along coastal trails, I always return home with a collection of ceramic pieces, roots, abandoned ropes or objects that have caught my eye." It is in this veritable box of treasures and in the memories of archived images that those places remain where Maria, emerging from the creative process, looks for the trigger and the power to take people to new places.

Coimbra, Portugal, 1970.

As a textile artist, Maria Pratas recognized that her training in visual education, which focused on visual content and two-dimensionality, led to the need to create on three-dimensional planes. In this sense, the materials she explores are directed towards the creation of textile sculptures on an enlarged scale. She travels to eclectic destinations, where visits to the artisan's workshop or the industrial loom, in coastal or mountainous territories, are part of her itineraries. In her luggage she brings records that are triggers and, based on the knowledge of ancient craftsmen, the artist develops a fusion between various raw materials and the different ways of transforming them into objects with stories. She goes through her studio creatively, where the territory of textiles always dominates the entire process. While she creates, she doesn't get distracted by time and, focused on her hands, the objects are sculpted strand by strand. She favors eclectic artistic environments, where each piece has a functional and artistic language. She wants her creations to come to life and be exhibited in environments and places where they can be unique and transformative. She is a master artist with the Homo Faber / Michelangelo Foundation.