Maria Korol is fascinated by stories about raw human impulses. Malice, envy, obsessions, sexual urgings, abuse, and also by moments of shame and vulnerability that everyone seems to have lived. The narrative impetus in my work comes from such experiences, from memory. But she also uses what she can hear, reads, or invent. Humor, spontaneity, and rhythm are present in my drawings.

The final aim is to tell a story in the vein of artists such as Paula Rego and Kara Walker. Using the comic strip and storyboard format. She makes her characters reappear in different situations as the drawings pile up. The viewer is invited to become familiar with them. Learns to decipher their thoughts and intentions through slow viewing. What seems like a simple smile may turn into a charged and complex sneer after careful observation of the interactions and events illustrated in the drawing.

Who is Maria Korol

I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I moved to the United States as an adult. As a girl who grew up in a sexist culture, in a Jewish family during and after a chauvinistic murderous dictatorship. My experience as an immigrant fuel my ideas and perceptions. Immigrants are often pushed into a helpless and awkward state. This is because of the possible inadequacy of their language, social behavior, and financial situation. I am interested in the sensitivity of the immigrant as well as in the emotions. She brings about the people that surround her. As Edward Said puts it in Culture and Imperialism: “Just as none of us is outside or beyond geography, none of us is completely free from the struggle over geography. That struggle is complex and interesting because it is not only about soldiers and cannons. But also about ideas, about forms, about images and imaginings.”

Artist’s Bio

María Korol was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1980 and moved to the United States in 2004. Her former education in classic and modern dance shifted to an interest in the visual arts while studying at the University of California, Irvine. Since then, she has shown her paintings and drawings nationally and internationally. In places as far afield as Bogotá and New York. Maria holds a Master in Fine Arts in painting and drawing from Indiana University, Bloomington. Where she taught drawing, two-dimensional design, and color theory classes. She taught drawing in Florence, Italy for six weeks in the summer of 2014. At the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Design last year. Maria is currently Assistant Professor of Art and Gallery Director at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. She is a fellowship recipient with the Akademie der Kunste for the 2016 residency in Berlin, Germany. She will also be the Visiting Artist and Painting Professor at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia for the 2016-17 academic year.

Learn more about Maria Korol

Susan Hensel Gallery

The focus of Susan Hensel Gallery is on compelling objects, meaningful use of materials, and engaging sculpture. It is a gallery where experimental ideas and works of the hand join to create unique sensory experiences. Opened September 10th, 2004 Susan Hensel Gallery is a gallery/ workspace presenting 5-6 shows per year in an intimate space, with hardwood floors and high tin ceilings. In 2013 the interior space reverted to a working studio for Susan Hensel where she continues to work on small and largescale artwork that engages both sculptural and cultural space. You can find her current work at www.SusanHenselProjects.com