Maite Nobo is a muli-media artist who can use materials that range from construction supplies, including concrete, metals, and other gritty substances, to use canvas, wood, or other non-conventional surfaces. She sees each as an opportunity to explore subjects by marking, staining, and disrupting with unique interventions. Her process of transforming the smooth surfaces of traditional painting into coarse layers of pigments results in works that are subtle for their colors and distinctive for their strong sense of abstraction instilled with a sense of creative freedom. It may be no surprise that Ms. Nobo was trained as an interior architect and grew up on construction sites. Her familiarity with drawing is fundamental to all her work. It informs the precise quality of objects made of aluminum and inscribed with seeming ease of execution to cut letters and other designs. It is also evident within the layers of pigment densely applied to painting surfaces that may look spontaneous but are carefully determined to affect shadows and lighting, which vary with time and place.

Her concern with all-over abstract arrangements through accidental juxtapositions generates images embedded and barely discernable in the textures. Monochromaic paletes range from soft and elegant to luminous rich tonalites, all of which enhance the surface. There is an overall unified effect in the application of paint and mixed media additions to the canvas or other supporting structures essential to her compositions. Without interference from outside rules or stylistic categories, she is never distracted from the production of her art, which she approaches with a sense of independence. Whether metal sculptures, paintings, or works made from other unconventional materials, all are informed by an appreciation of readily available resources found in industry rather than an art store. Process is important and exploring new ideas with both old and innovative materials is key to her art practice.

Ms. Nobo’s facility with diverse media is apparent in several noteworthy series, each quite disinct from the other. In a selection of small, differently framed works titled “BIG.”, the repetition on of a simple word done in mixed media on wood introduces the minimalist approach that describes much of her aesthetic approach to making art. Often, the most basic ideas are the most provocative, inviting the viewer to complete their meaning. Whether working in paint, metal, or other non-tradional surfaces, the straigh forward use of materials has become the most recognizable feature of her carefully constructed works. Despite the variety of subjects that inform her choices, for Maite Nobo, there are always new directions, new visions, and new concepts to explore for the future.

Carol Damian, Ph.D.

Miami, FL