artconcepte presents
Maria Rossario
Paraguay
"The canvas is not an empty space, but an unwritten memory of the past - "la memoria de la tierra"."
Maria Antonia Rosario is a contemporary artist celebrated for her deeply evocative explorations of heritage, memory, and ancestral landscapes. Rosario's work invites viewers into a realm where the vivid colors of South American nature and collective memory intertwine. Her pieces often feature textured organic layers and symbolic forms, rendered in a style that blends indigenous tapestry traditions with bold abstract expressionism. Through her art, Rosario challenges us to reflect on our roots, our relationship with the earth, and the unspoken stories passed down through generations.
From 1980 to 1985, Rosario studied fine arts and traditional textile design at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Asunción and later at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Argentina. From 1992 to 2004, she was responsible for scenic design and cultural preservation workshops at the Teatro Municipal de Asunción—in collaboration with regional historians, local weaving cooperatives, and the prominent theater director Carlos Aguilera.
First steps
From 2005 to 2018, Maria Antonia Rosario worked and taught as a resident artist at the Centro Cultural del Lago in Areguá. In the meantime, she had guest engagements and masterclasses at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago and the Bienal do Mercosul in Porto Alegre, and in 2019 she was awarded the South American Heritage Art Scholarship of the Aterana Foundation, Principality of Liechtenstein. Since 2020, Rosario works exclusively as a freelance artist in her studio near Asunción.
Work 1
The work of Maria Antonia Rosario is characterized by a varied dialogue between rich material texture, historical symbolism, and abstract landscapes. Native myths and modern reality are intertwined and give direction to the artist’s powerful associative formal language. Her works are scenarios of cultural identity and memory. They look grounded and deeply spiritual.
Work 2
The works of Maria Antonia Rosario are in public collections and spaces. These include the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Asunción, the Centro de Artes Visuales Museo del Barro, the Legislative Palace of Paraguay, the Museum of Fine Arts Buenos Aires, the House of Culture in Santa Cruz / Bolivia, and the permanent collection of the Aterana Foundation in the Principality of Liechtenstein.