Maria Makki Biography

Maria Makki was born in the States, but spent much of her childhood in Spain, her mother’s country of origin. In the U.S., Makki grew up on Key Biscayne, a small island off the coast of Miami, where she spent her days swimming in the ocean and drawing in her parents´ kitchen. At age eleven, Makki began to develop a portfolio of paintings and drawings which she would use to audition for several visual art magnet schools in Miami for the next two years, including the well-regarded, New World School of the Arts High School (NWSA).

Makki was elated and honored to be accepted into the prestigious visual arts program at NWSA. There, Makki completed four rigorous years (grades 9 through 12) of visual arts training in drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking. As part of select class of artists receiving the finest instruction from a staff of professional artists from all over the country, Makki was able to develop her skills as an artist, explore new mediums, observe and critique her classmates´ art work (as well as her own) on a daily basis. In the four years that she attended NWSA, Makki developed a personal style that was recognizable by her classmates and teachers and praised for its liveliness and vivid colors.

After graduating NWSA, Makki attended the University of Florida (UF) where she earned a degree in Economics. Although Makki attended UF on scholarship (full tuition), Makki worked full time at a Mexican restaurant to pay for her living expenses and college books. Despite her busy work and school schedule, Makki was able to graduate with the academic distinction of cum laude and a 4.0/4.0 GPA, as well as illustrate for several issues of a university publication called, Orange and Blue. Some of her illustrations for this University of Florida magazine earned her 2nd place for “Art & Illustration” in the Michigan State University Design Contest.

One of Makki´s best college experiences came when she lived and studied in Paris for one semester as part of a study-abroad program. In Paris, Makki´s artistic sensibilities were reawakened as she absorbed the beauty of the city streetscapes around her and marveled at the works of some of her favorite artists housed in the Musée d´Orsay and other fine museums. The people she would meet and the experiences she would live in Paris would forever change her life. Whenever asked about those precious months she spent in Paris, Makki sums them up with a single word, “Magical.”

After graduating from UF, Makki was uncertain what to do with her life. She felt torn between following a conventional but safe career path and an artistic one. For financial reasons, Makki chose the conventional path and got a job with a company straight out of college and kept painting as a “hobby.” A couple years later she returned to school, this time to study medicine.

In 2009, after many years of soul searching, Makki ultimately decided that she had to dedicate herself entirely to creating art. Painting, drawing, illustrating and above all, “creating” were not things she could do as mere hobbies. Subsequently, she withdrew from medical school and moved to Barcelona, a city she knew would be the perfect place for a new beginning and one where she could find inspiration in the streets, in the culture and in the museums.

Since moving to Barcelona, Makki has begun working on a series of paintings called, “Uomo e Donna.” These paintings focus on the intimate and interdependent relationship that exists between a man and a woman and share the same two subjects; that is, a man and a woman, who are represented in a semi-abstract fashion. Among many of the things Makki strives to convey through this group of paintings, is the complimentary nature of a man and woman's relationship. According to Makki, “there is no quality, strength or weakness that is strictly feminine or masculine. Men and women share the same traits and even these traits fluctuate depending on circumstances or the vicissitudes of life.”