We caught up with Kara Maria in her Bay Area studio recently for a look at her most recent work and a brief discussion. Maria's paintings and work on paper seamlessly blend contemporary painting techniques with thought-provoking themes such as feminism, war, and the environment. In this interview, we'll delve into her inspirations, process, and the intersection of art and activism. Join us on a journey through the vibrant and captivating world of Kara Maria's art.

Kara Maria paints carefully rendered miniature portraits of endangered animals into larger compositions to focus attention on the alarming rate of species extinction now being caused by human activity. Swirling and exploding shapes, bright colors, representational elements, and unlikely spatial relationships in the greater painting illustrate how our progressively chaotic environment displaces fauna and the systems that support it. Maria received her BA and MFA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States at venues including the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno; the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University; the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas; the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art; and the Katonah Museum of Art in New York; among others. In 2016, Maria’s work was featured in a solo exhibition, Head Over Heels, at the University Art Gallery at California State University, Chico, which included an accompanying monograph. Her work has garnered critical attention in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Art in America. Maria has completed residencies at the Montalvo Arts Center, Recology Artist in Residence Program, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, and at the de Young’s Artist Studio. She is recipient of multiple awards and honors, including a grant from Artadia and an Eisner Prize in Art from the University of California, Berkeley.