Before moving to New York City in 2001 and then Montréal in 2004, Maruja Cachay, a Brazilian painter, has worked in Rio de Janeiro for twenty years. She graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at the Catholic University of Peru. She was born and spent her early childhood in Cajamarca (Peru), which is encircled by mountains of the Andean Cordillera. For the inhabitants of the region, gorgeous scenery -- deep cliffs, rocks and valleys -- is part of everyday life. The special intensity of the light in Cajamarca, which is due to the altitude and the atmospheric conditions, helped form Maruja's specific optic sensitivity, deep retinal thinking, and privileged perspective on color in painting.
The artist has participated in many group exhibitions, in addition to
state and national salons. She had her first solo exhibitions in Rio de
Janeiro in 1983, which were well received by critics and her Brazilian
artist colleagues. Since then, the question of color has been central to
her creative process.
For the past twenty years, Maruja has been developing a course of study
for students and beginning artists. Critical awareness of the chromatic
fields' tension, articulation of the pictorial space, and proper
artistic language are some of the main topics she teaches in her class
"Oficina do Olhar" in her workshop.
Maruja died in 2013, in Bayonne (France).
Maruja died in 2013, in Bayonne (France).
