Born in Argentina, Perth-based artist Viviana Maier spent her formative years in close proximity to nature, which has had a considerable effect on her art-making. “Growing up surrounded by a lush forest,” she says, “I find myself drawn to botanical elements in my artwork. Each time I incorporate these elements into my pieces, I am transported back to the verdant landscapes of my childhood”. This wild, dramatic landscape has manifested itself in a practice that focuses on composition, rhythm, and texture.
Working exclusively in porcelain, Maier produces works that are experiential in nature, creating functional objects and wall art that almost beg to be touched. Rather than depicting specific plants, the artist chooses to abstract plants down to their botanic components. Delicate petals and leaves are decontextualised and rearranged, brought together in rhythmic waves or suspended in space, constructed anew within the artist’s visual language.
Porcelain as a medium is perfect for portraying botanical subjects as, despite being quite durable, it is visually delicate and allows for the passage of light through form. The translucent character of the porcelain evokes the intrinsic vitality of plants, replicating diaphanous petals and leaves as they turn towards the sun.
In the kiln these unique pieces acquire their own distinct character. Firing ceramics is as much a process of luck as it is skill, conferring on the petals their own range of colours and textures according to the unpredictable inclination of the flames. The artist then painstakingly arranges them according to their final forms, layering them to create dialogues between light and hue. Maier’s practice is one that works with and within nature, harnessing fire, and focusing on a single component of a plant to truly meditate on its form. It is as a result that her works mirror the infinite details found in the landscape she calls home.
Above: Viviana Maier, Petals in the Wind, 2023. Porcelain, 80 x 60cm. Courtesy: the artist.
Viviana Maier, Fall, 2022. Porcelain, 120 x 80cm. Courtesy: the artist.