María Cano (b. 1990, Bogotá, Colombia) is a contemporary visual artist and ceramicist whose practice treats clay as a living body and a cultural archive. Her research-led work bridges fine art with experimental heritage preservation, investigating the profound relationships between raw earth, landscape, and the communities that inhabit it.

Central to María’s practice is a commitment to horizontal cultural exchange. She has spent years working alongside traditional pottery communities across diverse Colombian regions – including Boyacá, Nariño, and Cauca – documenting and preserving ancestral ceramic knowledge. By fostering a direct dialogue between these ancient, territory-specific techniques and contemporary art, her work activates material memory and explores how collective identity is shaped.

María’s technical exploration extends to the elemental mechanics of her medium. In recent years, her research has focused on the architecture of fire, specifically designing and building experimental kilns to master the unpredictable transformation of clay. Through her Bogotá-based experimental studio, Salvaje, she seamlessly translates these traditional ceramic methodologies into the area of contemporary art and design.

Her international footprint includes artist residencies in Spain, Portugal, and Brazil, and her work has been featured in exhibitions across Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico.

María holds a BFA in Fine Arts from the Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá) and an MA in Production Design for Film and Television from Kingston University (London). Since 2016 María has continually expanded her material practice through specialised apprenticeships with master traditional potters and contemporary studios globally.

Artist Statement

Like humanity itself, the richness of clay lies in its diversity. As this raw material travels through the Earth’s crust, it blends with minerals and organic matter, forming unique compositions that give each clay body its own distinct character. These interactions shape the identity of every clay deposit. To me, this reflects the way living beings are also formed through shared experiences and relationships.

As an artist and potter, I have immersed myself in exploring the dynamics of clay, the landscapes it inhabits, and the living beings connected to it. I am deeply fascinated by the ways these elements interact, relate, and coexist. Over the years, I have visited and learned alongside different communities, gaining insight into their unique approaches to working with clay. Their traditions and knowledge are rooted in the specific clay of each place, where every community has developed techniques and expertise that exist in harmony with its territory.

These experiences have strengthened my commitment to building connections, fostering exchange, and preserving collective knowledge. I believe that, much like clay itself, knowledge is a collaborative process – shaped and enriched through shared experiences, ideas, and relationships.

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