Artist

Maria Alquilar

born New York City 1928-died Sacramento, CA 2014

Biography: Born in New York. The daughter of a Russian Jewish mother and Spanish father. Her altarpieces seek to explore the mythic heritage of many cultures and expose their common threads.
Nora Panzer, ed. Celebrate America in Poetry and Art (New York and Washington, D.C.: Hyperion Paperbacks for Children in association with the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1994)
: Luce Artist Biography
Inspired by her Russian and Spanish heritage, Maria Alquilar combines elements from many cultures in her art. She does this to emphasize our shared experiences and to show different paths to enlightenment. With very little formal training, Alquilar turned to art after the sudden death of her husband. She frequently includes plants and animals in her work to express the spiritual connection between humans and nature. Seeking a more permanent medium than ceramic or paint, Alquilar began to produce metal sculptures during her residency at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin. She believes that a public work of art should appeal intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually to the visitors of the site.