Maria Brito

Infobox Person
name=Maria Cristina Brito


caption=
birth_date=1947
birth_place=Havana, Cuba
death_date=
death_place=

Maria Brito (born María Cristina Brito y Avellana in 1947 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban-American artist specializing in painting, sculpture and installations.

In 1961, Brito entered the United States by way of Operation Peter Pan. She lives in Florida. Brito received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Florida International University (FIU) in 1978, and in 1979 obtained her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.

Individual exhibitions

* 1980 - The Gallery at 24, Miami, Florida, E.E.U.U.,
* 1985 - "María Brito Avellana, George Dombek, Larry Rhoads", Florida Center for Contemporary Art, Tampa, Florida.
* 1989 - "María Brito Avellana: Recent Sculpture"´´, "Interamerican Art Gallery", Miami, Florida
* 1989 - Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA), New York City.
* 1991 - "María Brito: A Retrospective", Barry University Gallery, Miami Shores, Florida
* 1991 - "María Brito: A Retrospective" Anne Jaffe Art Gallery, Bay Harbour, Florida,

Collective Exhibitions

She also formed part of many collective exhibitions:
* 1976 - "Craft Work’76" in Metropolitan Museum & Art Center, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.;
* 1981 - "Latin American Art A Woman’s View", Frances Wolfson Art Gallery, Miami Dade College, Florida, U.S.A.
* 1994 - "The Decade Show. Frameworks of Identity in the 1980s", The New Museum of Contemporary Art
* 1994 - "The Decade Show. Frameworks of Identity in the 1980s", Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA), New York City
* 1994 - "Breaking Barriers. Selections from the Museum of Art’s Permanent Contemporary Cuban Collection" in Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.

Awards

During her life she has obtained many awards and recognitions like the
* 1977 - Excellence in Art - Florida International University, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.;
* 1980 - Merit Award - Grove House, Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.;
* 1988 - Individual Artists Fellowship Award - Florida Department of State, Florida, U.S.A.;
* 1988 - Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, U.S.A.

Collections

Her work can be found in several permanent collections:
* Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas;
* Metro Dade Center, Miami, Florida;
* Cintas Collection Inc, New York City, New York;
* Miami Dade College, Kendall Campus, Miami, Florida;
* Olympic Sculpture Park, Seoul, Korea.
* Smithsonian Institution collection, Washington, D.C.

References

* Jose Veigas-Zamora, Cristina Vives Gutierrez, Adolfo V. Nodal, Valia Garzon, Dannys Montes de Oca; Memoria: Cuban Art of the 20th Century; (California/International Arts Foundation 2001); ISBN 978-0917571114
* Jose Viegas; Memoria: Artes Visuales Cubanas Del Siglo Xx; (California International Arts 2004); ISBN 978-0917571121 es icon
* Juan A. Martinez, María Brito; (University of Minnesota Press, 2008); ISBN 978-0-89551-108-9

External links

* [http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/research/MariaBrito.html UCLA webpage on artist]
* [http://www.artfacts.net/index.php/pageType/artistInfo/artist/93190/lang/1 Art Facts webpage on the artist]
* [http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/M/martinez_maria.html University of Minnesota Press article on book on Maria Brito]