Maya Freelon

Bio

Maya Freelon is an award-winning visual artist whose work was described by the late poet Maya Angelou as “visualizing the truth about the vulnerability and power of the human being.”

Her artwork was featured on the cover of Walter Magazine magazine, in the book Art of the State, magazines Forbes and Garden & Gun, The Philadelphia Inquirer; and Cosmopolitan called her “one of the most badass female artists in the biz”. Huffington Post hailed Maya as one of “30 Contemporary Art Makers Under 40 You Should Know”; and Complex Magazine celebrated her “Making Waves in the Art World.”

Freelon’s artwork has been  commissioned and collected by museums and galleries worldwide, as well as major universities and corporations including Google, Cadillac, Duke Hospital, the North Carolina Museum of Art. Her monumental tissue paper sculpture, created for Halcyon, was displayed at the  Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building.

Miami New Times selected Maya  as one of “five Young Artists to Watch During Miami Art Week 2019” and her unique tissue paper art was praised by the International Review of African American Art as “a vibrant, beating assemblage of color.”

Maya’s work has been exhibited internationally, including shows in Paris, Jamaica, Madagascar, and Italy; and is housed in the US National Gallery of Art. She has completed residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, Queenspace in NYC, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Art on the Vine in Martha’s Vineyard and the Korobitey Institute in Ghana. Most recently she received an 89K grant from by the Library of Congress to produce a new exhibition,‘Whippersnappers’, which uses archival photographs of Black children born in America, from LOC’s digital collections.

More info mayafreelon.com