About Maria Neary

I love making art and being in my studio, where time seems to stand still. Troubles fade. I have been making art for forty + years.

I gave myself a challenge to spend the year painting within a grid and seeing how and where it would take me. That was in early 2008 and I must like the challenge, as I am still working on it. The grids started out with very straight and square lines and have evolved into being more abstract. I continue to push my own boundary and am open to what will be next.

I’ve always loved reading maps and when I stand above one of my paintings and look down, I feel I am mapping a view of my world. Old photographs, maps and odd scraps of paper intrigue me. Eventually they can make their way into a painting. I work with acrylic paint on paper and canvas.

My background as an animator continues to influence my style. It’s the putting together of images and words to tell a story that continues to inspire me. A love of science, years spent as a scientific illustrator and a passion to know how things work, play a huge role when I pick up a paintbrush today.

I attended NYU and The School of Visual Arts In New York City from 1968 –1972. From 1971–1973 I was an animator in NYC. I continued commercial animation in Guatemala for several years, until moving to Boulder, CO in 1977.

A few of my favorite things are: hiking on a mountain trail, Nordic skiing, artist-in-residencies with local middle schools, road trips and early morning runs with Tug the dog.

Selected Solo Exhibitions 1978-2009

The Dairy Center for the Arts – Boulder, CO
Cogswell Gallery – Colorado Springs, CO
Mercury Framing – Boulder, CO
Stapleton Airport – Denver, CO
National Center for Atmospheric Research – Boulder, CO
Lucy LGB Gallery – Baltimore, MD
Robinson Rush Gallery – Atlanta, GA
NASA – Houston, TX
University of Bristol – Bristol, UK

Selected Group Exhibitions 1978-2009

New York Film Festival – New York, NY
The New York Public Library – New York, NY
Holter Museum – Helena, MT
Loveland Museum – Loveland, CO
Metro Center for the Visual Arts – Denver, CO
The Boulder Public Library – Boulder, CO
The Dairy Center for the Arts – Boulder, CO
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Arts – Boulder, CO
Maclaren Markowitz Gallery – Boulder, CO
University of Colorado – Boulder, CO
University of California – Davis, CA

Selected Corporate Commissions 1978-2009

Boulder Community Hospital – Boulder, CO
Tebo Family Cancer Center – Boulder, CO
Downtown Denver Partnership – Denver, CO
Park Meadows Mall – Denver, CO
Colorado Business Bank – Boulder, CO
Colorbook Paper Company – Dexter, MI
Marriott Hotel – Orlando, FL
Beth Israel Hospital – New York, NY