BIO
Maria Constanza Ferreira is a Venezuela/American/Portuguese video and installation artist. Since the summer of 2022 she has been based in Porto, Portugal. Her works have been showcased internationally at places such as Times Square Midnight Moment, Artes- Mota Galiza, Konstpaus Stockholm, MoMA PS1, IndieLisboa Film Festival, and the Exploratorium Museum. In 2023 she was awarded a grant to the Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra to create a film to be exhibited at Casa de la Ciencia in Sevilla in the fall of 2023 and Parque de las Ciencias in Granada in 2024 . From 2019 to 2020, Ferreira was awarded a year-long residency in the chemistry laboratory of the Kahr Research Group at New York University, funded by the National Science Foundation of the United States. In 2020, she was the recipient of the GLAS Animation Festival Grant, the singular grant of its kind for independent animators in the United States, in addition to receiving two nominations for Vimeo’s Best of the Year Films. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My art practice incorporates various forms of fine art and digital media to explore the imperceptible—images, objects, materials, traditions, and practices that are disconnected from every-day life or that are so prevalent they become unseen. My work draws attention to these forms and reimagines their meaning usually through some process of abstraction and interaction with technology. I have engaged with various scientific fields and utilized machines such as satellites, microscopes, scanners, and other unique scientific imaging techniques to explore microscopic and macroscopic landscapes. My work with crystallography examines the self-generative properties of synthetic crystals and experiments with the interaction between materials and light.
Throughout my practice, light exists as a fundamental physical element and metaphorical theme. Through the use of film, chemistry, and materials exploration, I study and experiment with the physical properties of light. And I utilize light as a conceptual framework to explore more personal themes related to spiritualism and uncovering hidden collective and personal histories. Ultimately, I am interested in the use of art as a means of exploring and preserving cultural traditions and memories whilst exploring important questions about how people relate to their surrounding cultural and material landscapes.