Maria Appleton

Maria Appleton reimagines textile processes into a language for examining how personal experience is shaped by urban environments. Her practice investigates the relationship between subjectivity and cityscapes through a refined exploration of color, form, and material. She employs techniques such as dyeing, weaving, and printmaking to create layered textile compositions using cotton, silk, and industrial fabrics. These works manifest as vibrant, abstract transparencies that interact dynamically with light and space. Her work reflects on the ongoing dialogue between bodies and their surroundings, emphasizing a symbiotic relationship shaped by light and movement. Appleton considers the viewer an active participant in experiencing and interpreting her pieces, inviting a multisensory engagement. Exploring the concept of liminal spaces—states of emotional or physical dislocation—her compositions layer geometric patterns that form cartographic-like maps connected to collective memory. Her work addresses pressing themes such as climate change, social inequality, economic systems, and technological shifts. Urban elements like posters, logos, and textual fragments are woven alongside symbolic interventions, such as a prominent black stripe that acts as a moment of interruption or reflection. Through negotiating presence and absence, Appleton’s textiles evoke memories, dreams, and sensory responses, offering a rich, nuanced exploration of contemporary life. ...