Lobby Case

July 18, 2025 – September 27, 2025 

María will give an artist talk on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 5:30 PM.

Our bodies and experiences are deeply intertwined with those of other creatures. I explore the profound connection between the human and non-human through drawings, paintings, sculptures, writing, animation, and more. Inspired by memories and the literature of Latin America, my art transforms historical and geographical contexts into the realm of imagination, speculation, and reinvention. 

The interplay between the real and the fantastical is central to my practice. I utilize pareidolia—the tendency to see familiar forms in abstract patterns—to guide my image making. Through a tactile dialogue with materials, I uncover and emphasize unexpected forms, which then evolve into the anatomies of anthropomorphic beings. 

Marginal, eccentric, and grotesque characters take center stage, challenging conventions and stereotypes, suggesting that assumptions based on appearances are often misleading. By engaging in slow observation and attentive listening, I unearth an alternate reality where the natural world's symphony of animal sounds and rhythms becomes the heartbeat of our shared existence. Through this exploration, I aim to illuminate the complex, interconnected nature of our world, bridging the gap between the known and the imagined. 

- María Korol

María Korol's artistic practice is rooted in drawing and painting. She is interested in storytelling, literature in conversation with history, memory, and transformation. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1980, in the middle of a military dictatorship, she was exiled to Brazil for five years and later returned to grow up in her home country. She moved to the United States in 2004. Korol has shown her artwork nationally and internationally in places such as March Gallery and The Painting Center in New York City, September Gallery in Kinderhook, NY, Marcia Wood Gallery in Atlanta, and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, among other places. Her artwork is in numerous collections. She is a distinguished fellow of the Junge Akademie der Künste, the Hambidge Center, and the Women's Art Institute. In recent years she was a finalist for the Atlanta Artadia Award and the recipient of the Edge Award with the Forward Arts Foundation. Her work has been mentioned in The New York Times, ARTFORUM, ART PAPERS, Burnaway, and ArtsATL. Her studio is based in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is an assistant professor of art at Morehouse College.