Who do you see when you look at me?
2023
66″x66″
Acrylic mix media on raw canvas
Melt
2022
48″x36″
Acrylic on wood panel
Maria Diamond | she/her | Vancouver Island, BC
Born and raised on Vancouver Island, BC, Maria Diamond is an emerging multidisciplinary artist set to graduate from the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Victoria in the spring of 2024. Predominantly working with acrylic on raw canvas, Maria’s artwork aims to explore dynamics of intimacy, analyzing the idea of closeness and connection. She draws inspiration from an internal competing and complementary dialogue between mind, body and spirit. Diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome at age 11, Maria found her voice in expressing her emotions and life experiences through her art. She creates work that embodies a visual diary composed of ideas of sexuality, the body, queer experience and memory. Throughout her paintings, Maria evokes intimacy by using figure, abstraction, texture and bold colours.
During her time studying at the University of Victoria, Maria has been a part of multiple group exhibitions as well as worked as a curator in student productions. Maria is currently working as a project lead in Island Health, introducing visual and tactile art into spaces for people experiencing dementia.
