Maria Laet

Maria Laet (1982, Rio de Janeiro) lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. She concluded studies at PIESP, São Paulo, 2011-2012; received her MA in Theory and Practice of Transnational Art from Camberwell College of Art, London, UK, before receiving her Post Graduate degree in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London UK. Laet’s multidisciplinary work seeks to document moments, spaces and movements that are often invisible. The media used for her practice function as archives, not only of the artist’s presence and actions, but also of the movements of nature. There is a fragility evoked in her works which are often captured in a palette of black and white that highlights the seemingly minimalist pieces. The act of breathing, human touch, the flow of a river, or the growth of a tree are all fields that are part of the poetics of her practice. Thus, the resulting works command attention to consider the physicality and non-physicality of them. Laet participated in residencies in Residency Unlimited, New York, USA (2014), Carpe Diem Arte e Pesquisa, Lisbon, Portugal (2010) and at Schloß Balmoral, Bad Ems, Germany.

Selected individual exhibitions include: Infinita medida, 3+1 Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon, Portugal (2024); Quase um nada / Almost nothing, 3+1 Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon, Portugal (2019); Almost nothing, OTIUM #4, IAC – Institute of Contemporary Art, Villeurbanne, Rhônes-Alpes, France (2019); pela superfície, 3+1 Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon, Portugal (2013); Desenhos de Ar, Centro Universitário Maria Antonia, São Paulo, Brazil, among others.

Group exhibitions include: ELLAS, curated by Oliva Arauna, Torre de Don Borja, Santillana del Mar, Spain (2026); Histórias da Ecologia, curated by André Mesquita and Isabella Rjeille, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo, Brazil (2025); Planète Mer. L’eau dans l’écho du temps, Parc naturel regional des Monts d’Ardèche Park House, Jaujac, France (2024); Lugar de estar: o legado Burle Marx, Curated by Beatriz Lemos, Isabela Ono and Pablo Lafuente, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2024); Chosen Memories: Contemporary Latin American Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift and Beyond, curated by Inés Katzenstein and Julia Detchon, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (2023); Matières à panser / Matters of concern, La Verrière, Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès, Belgium (2019); 33rd São Paulo Biennial: Affective Affinities, curated by Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, São Paulo, Brazil (2018); Cosmogonies, au gré des éléments, curated by Hélène Guenin, MAMAC, Nice, France (2018); Video Art in Latin America, LAXART, Los Angeles, USA (2017); Tangents, Museum of Fine Arts (MSK), Belgium (2015); From the Margin to the Edge: Brazilian Art and Design in the 21st century, Somerset House, London, UK (2012); 18th Biennale of Sydney: all our relations, Art Gallery NSW and MCA, Sydney, Australia (2012); O lugar da linha, Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Niterói, Brazil (2010); Novas Aquisições 2006/2007, Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2007); amongst other.

Her works are part of collections such as: MAM, Gilberto Chateaubriand Rio de Janeiro; MAC Niterói; FRAC Lorraine, France; MSK, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium; Coleccíon Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (Cisneros Collection), New York, USA; AGI Verona Collection, Italy; MoMA, New York, USA; Vasco Santos Collection, Portugal; Oliva Arauna Collection, Madrid, Spain; and Maria Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation, Madrid, Spain.

Infinite measure

Almost nothing

pela superfície

It can break down, Maria Inês Augusto, June 2024

The intimate world of Maria Laet at the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo, Leonor Amarante, June 2018