Maria R. Nielsen is a self taught artist. She was born in the south of Denmark. Her cultural background is mainly Danish with a childhood spent partly in Madagascar. The combination of influences from Scandinavia and Africa has created a unique foundation for her art.

Maria Nielsen always strives to paint her emotions. Her instinct is to employ vivid and bold colours. Her subject matter is usually the true female essence and experience. Her work has been construed by some as controversial.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I paint in order to understand my emotions and also to have an outlet for them, both the positive and the negative. This gives me a sense of freedom, so in fact I paint to feel free. For this reason my art is much more than just paint on a canvas, it is small bites of my thoughts and myself.

I use many colours when I paint in order to properly portray the many sides of human emotion. Also, I mainly paint female or feminine figures as my work is in part a self portrait as I perceive the world through my own femininity. I don't paint things that are perfect or flawless but things that become beautiful in their own right because of the emotion behind the work.

My current works are less abstract due to the fact that I as a person and as an artist have evolved. My goal is to always be able to paint something that is true. To me, having a piece of art that is a direct counterpart to an experience or emotion makes humanity seem less mortal.