María Xosé Ares was born in Lugo, Spain, in 1963, where she began her artistic journey at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios Ramón Falcón. There, she studied a variety of artistic techniques, including acrylics, watercolors, oil painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Though she continued her education, oil painting became the focal point of her practice and remains central to her work today.
Her work is characterized by a constant exploration of empty spaces, often veiled in mist, fog, and vapor. These atmospheric environments convey solitude and silence, where the traces of human presence are subtly suggested through ruins and remnants of former inhabitants. Her style is deeply influenced by the abstract expressionism of Mark Rothko, whose large, emotive color fields inspired her to work on a grand scale, typically 130×180 cm. This allows her to evoke a powerful emotional response—suggesting isolation, introspection, and the haunting remnants of life.
Color plays a pivotal role in her paintings, where vibrant fields and soft, undulating hues create a sense of atmosphere and mystery. Using oil paints on rice paper, she creates layers of color through wet and dry glazes, which allows for subtle tonal shifts and an ethereal, volatile quality. The color fields are reminiscent of Rothko’s expansive compositions, where boundaries dissolve, and a sense of unease and ambiguity prevails.
In her work, there is a continual dialogue between large, urban-scale spaces and the delicate, organic details found in nature. While she often explores desolate, ruined cities—stripped of what once defined them—she also depicts organic forms like fish, fractured and fragmented, as metaphors for the human condition. These creatures, sometimes hiding or healing their wounds, represent both fragility and resilience. Nature, in this context, becomes a mirror for human existence—wounded, scarred, and struggling to survive.
Her work invites viewers into a world of emotional depth, where silence speaks louder than words, and the remnants of the past tell stories of loss, survival, and endurance. Through her use of color, space, and form, María Xosé Ares creates a poignant, introspective experience, where absence and presence are intricately intertwined.
This May, María Xosé Ares will explore her captivating artistic vision at the Art World Fair in Paris. Step into her world of vibrant colours, atmospheric spaces, and poignant reflections on the human condition. Her works, deeply influenced by architecture, nature, and abstract expressionism, offer a profound exploration of silence, absence, and the remnants of the past.
Don’t miss the chance to visit her space and immerse yourself in a unique dialogue between the organic and the urban, the present and the past, through her stunning oil paintings. Join us at the Art World Fair this May in Paris to discover the emotional depth of María Xosé Ares’ latest works and witness her visionary approach to contemporary art.
What you will see in Paris :
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Europe Address
Mayor Street 4. 5-6, 28013, Madrid , Spain
USA Address
2600 S.Doyglas Rd., Coral Gables 33134 Florida, USA
Open Hours
Monday – Friday: 10am – 5pm
Weekends: 10am – 9pm
Holidays: Closed