Q&A [Question & Artist]: Maria Antonia Eguiarte

Q&A [Question & Artist]: Maria Antonia Eguiarte

Brea Gallery

The Brea Gallery opened “Through the Dreamhouse” exhibition on Saturday, January 27th and is on view now through March 22, 2024. This group exhibition delves into the symbolism and power of our domestic spaces, using both traditional and unconventional mediums, to examine intimate and introspective aspects of a household.

Before we say goodbye to all the art in this exhibition, we are welcoming Maria Antonia Eguiarte for our last Q&A [Question and Artist] installment. Look into Maria’s captivating art practice, unique experiences, sources of inspiration and more below!

Meet Maria Antonia Eguiarte

[Brea Gallery]: Can you please introduce yourself and share with us who you are as an artist? 

[Maria]: My name is Maria Antonia Eguiarte and I consider myself an artist, caregiver, hybrid storyteller, student, and teacher. My work is informed by the complex duality chicana women hold with ourselves, a struggle between upholding the traditions that make me who I'm and the desire to break them down in order to find radical ways of caring and being. In my work I focus primarily on questioning labor, care and autonomy in an attempt to heal myself and the generational trauma I hold.

Within the dimly lit halls of Mexican Catholic churches I find inspiration for a quiet gestural revolution. By using the elements and symbols of religion I have created my own personal queer feminist theology where I  gather my thoughts and dreams and commune with my past and future. Using textile art and performance I draw from personal narrative, family and nation myths, non-linear and anti-hierarchical ways of knowledge, to disrupt my  relationship with care, community, self and spirituality. 

[Brea Gallery]: Can you explain the meaning behind your piece ‘Tomandome mi Tiempo-En Cristo Mi Confianza in collaboration with Santa Teresa de Jesús’?

[Maria]: For years, Santa Teresa lived an anonymous life in my head. She only existed as depicted by Bernini in his famous sculpture Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1651). Just a body in ecstasy, just a woman in presumed pleasure made by a man. She stayed anonymous in my head until one day she spoke to me. She appeared in the background of a silly TV show and I just could not get her out of my head. She stayed in my head for days until one day I listened to her whispers. It's with her and her writing that I finally found a comrade in madness. 

Her approach to spiritual life is one of whispers. She suggested and worked on private prayer, the importance of an inner relationship with the Wholly Other. She cared for this relationship with enormous devotion. It became her world. The famous ecstasy was a very intimate and personal moment with the Other. It's now thought that these visions, these sensual experiences were aided by partial epileptic episodes, a condition I share with her. This was the first thing that I found to connect us, and from there the list grew and our conversations became deeper. We both experience the world via a neurodivergent lens, a world full of magic and faith, seeing beauty and holiness in empty spaces. 

This piece is about her body and mine, her thoughts and mind colliding with my own, meeting in this third space of dreams where together we unravel the complicated story of our bodies. The installation holds as its main focus on a small felt book. Within the book is an annotated version of one of Santa Teresa's poems where she professes her infinite devotion to God, Christ and the church, giving her body completely. In the notes I engage in dialogue with her trying to find balance in her devotion and her freedom, her autonomy. I try to breach the gap she has created between her body and soul, I try to give her body back to her. An attempt that allows myself to give my body back to me as well. The installation is an invitation to form part of our conversation, an invitation to sit in the dream space and reflect with us.

[Brea Gallery]: What are you hoping for visitors to experience in interacting with this piece?

[Maria]: I hope visitors experience a moment to quiet reflection and mindfulness. To feel real time disappearing into dreamtime. I hope to build a space where the edges of reality and dream become fuzzy. I wish to help the visitor see within, and rest. 

[Brea Gallery]: What topics inspire your art? 

[Maria]: I'm inspired by the rich history of Mexican mestizaje, hybrid ways of spirituality, family and myths. I find so much beauty in the conversations shared by women when cooking, caring or crafting, especially what is said in silence between the lines. I’m inspired by queer feminist writers and activists and the ways they teach me how to deeply listen to myself and my community. But what inspires me the most is all the humans that have taken care of me and the ones I have taken care of, the ones that have listened and shared.  

[Brea Gallery]: What has helped you in leading your artistic mission and/or inspires you to keep going? Also what are 3 things in your studio right now that you are obsessed with?

[Maria]: I think about this daily and sometimes I can't think of a good reason to keep going. The truth is I can't stop, I believe in the strange world that lives in my head and its value. I believe that as a society we need spaces for silence and listening, of mindful contemplations. So I will keep building, caring, and listening, hoping to hear some whispers back.

I have an extensive collection of objects in my studio. At the moment my favorites are my felted clocks that go counter clockwise, my collection of milagritos (metal catolic charms) and a music box in the shape of three singing nuns.

[Brea Gallery]: Who are your top 3 artists right now?

[Maria]: My studio is plastered with images of the first catholic churches in Mexico that were filled with pre colonial imagery, an hidden act of rebellion. I'm always thinking about those artisans and their legacy. Lately I've been thinking a lot about the Mexican colonial tradition of crown nun painting.

But in terms of contemporary artists, I love Janine Antoni. Her work constantly pushes my boundaries and inspires me as a storyteller. The show that the De la Torre brothers had at the ICA San Diego has been one of my favorite shows I’ve seen in a while and I believe they are some of the best neo-Mexicanism artists working right now. And I'm always thinking and looking back to Louise Bourgeois’ work as one of my cornerstones. 

[Brea Gallery]: What advice would you give to artists who might not know where to start in making installation pieces or mixed media work?

[Maria]: Take it slow and first think about you and your needs, and what materials talk to you. Then let yourself play! Build a fort in your room and take your time with the space you just built and the feeling it gave you. Notice how you solved the technical issues within your fort–this will show you how to think in 3D and solve problems.  Look at what you collect and see the patterns between them. These may show you your favorite materials and color schemes.  Make a collage and see how you mix and match images.

I truly believe that making art is play– playing with big thoughts and feelings but at its core it's still play, especially with installation. So play around, move your furniture, cut your magazines, dive head first into the textures of your room and your heart. 

[Brea Gallery]: Thank you for your time Maria! Before you go, where else can people find your work or what’s coming up next?

[Maria]: My website is somewhat of a good place to see my work and I do have an instagram that I’m terrible at updating. And to what's coming next, your guess is as good as mine, but I will keep making things and spaces I find beautiful and I hope to find places to share them.

Thank you Maria! We greatly appreciate your time in sharing some insight with us about your work and deep insight on what works best for you in your art practice!

Be sure to check out Maria Antonia Eguiarte’s website and follow her social media accounts! Visitors can view her amazing installation work in person at the Brea Gallery until March 22nd, 2024.

We are open Wednesday - Sunday

12pm-5pm

General Admission $3

Through The Dreamhouse is on display now through March 22nd, 2024.

Come take our Candle Making Workshop!

Come take our Candle Making Workshop!
Q&A [Question & Artist]: Emily Babette Gross

Q&A [Question & Artist]: Emily Babette Gross