We’re looking forward to introducing you to Maria Josr Benvenuto. Check out our conversation below.
Maria Josr, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
The past few weeks have been filled with moments that made me smile and feel deeply proud. I recently won a doubles tennis championship, which was such a joyful and unexpected milestone outside my artistic life. I also just inaugurated my solo exhibition Diálogos in Chile, a very meaningful moment that brought together many years of exploration and personal transformation. And today is especially emotional for me, as I’ll be attending the ceremony to receive my Australian citizenship — something I’ve achieved through my career as an artist. Each of these experiences has reminded me how far I’ve come and how many beautiful paths creativity can open.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m an abstract and expressionist artist based in Sydney, originally from Chile. My practice is deeply intuitive and grounded in my connection with nature — especially the landscapes around my studio in an Australian national park. Through colour, composition, and gesture, I translate inner states and moments of personal transformation into visual form.
What makes my work unique is the balance between spontaneity and intention. Each painting often begins with an intuitive digital sketch, then evolves through a meditative, embodied process on canvas. I’m represented by galleries internationally, and I’m continuously expanding the way I share my creative universe.
At the moment, I’m developing a new book inspired by my latest solo exhibition Diálogos in Chile — a project that brings together artworks, reflections, and the stories behind this body of work.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Becoming a mother to my two children completely transformed the way I understand the world. Motherhood opened a deeper sense of presence, intuition, and emotional awareness that naturally flows into my artistic practice. It taught me to see beauty in the smallest details, to trust my inner voice, and to hold space for both chaos and harmony — lessons that continue to shape my work and my life every day.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me a kind of clarity and inner strength that success can’t reach. It revealed what truly matters, stripped away ego, and brought me back to myself in a more honest way. Pain pushed me to look inward, to trust my intuition, and to create from a place of truth rather than expectation. Success is beautiful, but suffering teaches humility, resilience, and the quiet wisdom that becomes the foundation for deeper, more authentic work.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They would say that freedom is essential to me — the freedom to create, to move, to feel, and to live authentically. They’d also say that I have a natural ability to see beauty in everything, even in quiet or imperfect moments, and that I’m inherently optimistic. I choose to look toward possibility, transformation, and light, both in life and in my art.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If immortality were real, what would you build?
If immortality were real, I would build a living archive of creativity — a constantly evolving world of paintings, writings, spaces, and experiences that invite people to reconnect with their intuition. I’d create something that grows with time: a sanctuary of colour, silence, and imagination where generations could come to feel inspired, understood, and connected to something larger than themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mariajosebenvenuto.com
- Instagram: @mariajosebenvenuto
