ARTIST BIO
Maya White is a visual artist from Asheville, NC. In 2021, White received a BFA in Studio Art at Western Carolina University. White's work has been featured in exhibitions and galleries, including The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts and The Maria V. Howard Art Center. She has also studied art restoration at the Lorenzo de Medici Institute in Florence, Italy, and technical painting, drawing and sculptural skills at the New York Academy of Art Summer Residency Program. White is a muralist and has painted murals in Asheville and Tennessee, including The Grey Eagle and Knoxville Recovery Center. White is currently creating paintings that capture overlooked moments that speak about society and culture, while exploring the dimensions of colors and forms.
ARTIST STATEMENT
"My paintings focus on the mundane day to day life in dialogue with social practices. I paint recognizable settings in vibrant and harmonic colors that bring the viewer in. Upon a closer look, there is a juxtaposition between the relationship of the ordinary space to the sometime’s troubled occupant. I am currently interested in American drinking culture and its effect on human interactions. In these still life’s, there is a sense of loneliness and addiction to the distractions of alcohol, drugs, and the party surrounding. My work looks at the need for connection to others and ourselves that are obtained through these distractions.
I use painterly brushstrokes, rich colors, and distorted perspective to create a space that is contemporary, influenced by traditional Still Life Painting. The interior landscape is abstracted and also refined to create a sense of importance and lack there of throughout the painting. "