The morphological language of the artist involves the choices, not only those regarding the environment in which she expresses herself, but also about the work variants. In an extremely palpable field, that of ceramics, in which the energy necessary for modeling is transmitted directly through the fingers, the artist creates images, of course, three-dimensional, rather than objects declared aesthetical, be they spectacular, unique or surprising. The works thus made are eclectic, without being experimental. The experimental part is strictly about burning, a process that always offers surprises and not always pleasant ones. The relations between randomness and artistic will are the expression of the continuity between the initially imagined forms, then “caught” in artworks. These involve not only the joining, for example, porcelain with paper, metal wires or natural feathers, but also the absorption of light, the determination of space or the extension in the shadows. Introspection holds weight in the act of creation.
Two of the artist’s main themes, Androgyne and Genesis, are periodically interpreted in various ways. Angelological doctrines complete the sketched thematic picture. The exhibition project Genesis, from 2019, materialized in an exhibition at Galateca Gallery, develops a theme initiated on the occasion of the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2017, where the artist also won the Lorenzo Il Magnifico Gold Medal.
Maria Cioată expresses herself fully in projects, carried out over years, or even decades, taking into account that she never considers the chapters she opens to be over. Even though she participated in numerous group exhibitions in the country and abroad with unique pieces, they were conceived in relation to the meditation themes that fueled the great projects. An exhibition of Maria always looks in a certain way, in the sense that nothing is left to chance, from the general structure, order of the pieces, route, lighting, ambient elements, soundtrack and down to the smallest detail. Everything is neat, meticulous, controlled, that is, related to what she wants to achieve as a general visual effect and to what she is trying to convey, beyond what is visible.
Mihai Plămădeală, art critic