Heloisa Maia (b. 1960, João Pessoa, Brazil; lives in Miami) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice traverses painting and drawing, to explore themes of memory, identity, and the womanhood. Since 2017 she has been based in Miami, after years of working between Brazil, the US, and Europe.
Her itinerant life deeply informs her work. Transitions, impermanence, and longing surface in her female figures and landscapes, which are at once autobiographical and universal. Working primarily on canvas, linen, and paper, she layers vibrant colors with dynamic lines, creating chromatic narratives that oscillate between imagination and memory. Maia’s constant use of the figure resists realism, instead embodying solitude, curiosity, motherhood, and resilience.
Equally central is her ability to integrate drawing and painting into seamless compositions. Often beginning with painted backgrounds, she incorporates pastels and oil sticks to move fluidly between precise lines and expressive brushstrokes. This dialogue of mediums generates works that capture both structure and spontaneity, mirroring the complexity of lived experience.
Maia’s portraits radiate emotional depth, while her landscapes—whether inspired by the Brazilian Sertao , travels in Morocco or anywhere she might be —become sensory geographies infused with historical and emotional resonance.
CV
Heloisa Maia
João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. 1960.
Lives and works in Miami where she has her studio.
EDUCATION
Finishes Communication Studies at Federal University of Paraiba (1980) and the Baccalaureate in Public Relations and Advertising (1982) at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre. Between 1982 and 1986, lives in California and studies Painting with Helen Barber at The Palo Alto Pacific Art League, Drawing and Illustration with Justine Parish at San Francisco Art Academy, and Ceramics with Carl Paak at the University of New Mexico. Back in Brazil, she takes painting lessons with Marlene Almeida e Flávio Tavares (1994) at Tambiá Visual Arts Center in João Pessoa, Paraíba. Moves to Porto Alegre (1995) and participates in painting workshops with Michael Chapman at The City Hall Art Studio. Back in the US in 1998 and 1999, this time in New York, she takes etching and engraving classes with Mohammad Khalil at Parsons School of Design and Painting and Drawing with Phillip Sherrod and Anthony Palumbo at the Art Students League of New York.
ART RESIDENCIES PROGRAMS
2016
• Residence Saint Veran, Vaison-la-Romaine, Provence, France.
2000
• Freie Kunstschule Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
• “Pinturas”, Sesc Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2023
• “Desenhos e Pinturas”, Consulate General of Brazil in Miami, Florida, USA.
• “Deserto(De)Sertão Sertão…Ancestral”, São Francisco Cultural Center, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil
2018
• “On the Road”, Energisa Cultural Center, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2009
• “Paintings” Format, New York, US.
2001
• “Vivências” Bolsa de Arte de Porto Alegre Gallery, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
• “Vivências” Centro Social et Culturel Franco-Brazilien, Paris, France.
• “Vivências” Gamela Gallery, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
• “The Family of the Artist” Exhibition, an hotel Intervention at Tower Hotel, Miami
• “Atlas”, Canteiro, São Paulo , Brazil.
• “The Things we Carried” Emporium B Gallery, Miami, USA
2023
• “Certos Pontos Incomuns”: artistas mulheres da Paraíba, São Francisco Cultural Center, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2016
• La Galerie, Vaison-la-Romaine, Provence, France.
2010
• East Hampton Guild Hall, East Hampton, New York, USA.
2009
• Crazy Monkey Gallery, Amagansett, New York, USA.
2008
• Crazy Monkey Gallery, Amagansett, New York, USA.
2006
• Gamela Gallery, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
• Bolsa de Arte, Porto Alegre Gallery, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
• Postal Art, Sesc João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2005
• O Desenho da Pintura, Saelpa Cultural Center na X Fenart, II Drawing Biennial João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2004
• Gamela Gallery, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2003
• Goiás Federal University Art Center, Goiás, Brazil.
• Gamela Gallery, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
• Bolsa de Arte de Porto Alegre Gallery, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
• São Francisco Cultural Center, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2002
• Federal University of Sergipe Art and Culture Center, Aracajú, Brazil.
• São Francisco Cultural Center, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
• I Drawing Biennial, Paraíba Cultural Foundation, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2001
• Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul Education and Art Center, Brazil.
• Tambiá Visual Arts Center, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2000
• Freie Kunstschule Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
COMMISSIONS / SPECIAL PROJECTS
2020/22
• Project “Artist Open”, studio visits, promoted by Fountainhead Residency, Miami.
2019
• Casa Cor Miami Design Exhibition, Paintings. Miami, Florida, US
• Project “Artists Open”, studio visit organized by Fountainhead Residency, Miami, Florida, US.
2018
• “Art Talk” series project by The55Project, interview with Dainy Tapia, in Miami, Florida, US.
• Paintings Exhibition at Nisi B. Home, Miami.
2016
• Paintings Exhibition at Ornate Miami.
2007/9
• Project “Art at Florense”, painting exhibitions at Florense Showrooms in Maceio, Recife, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, and NY .
2002
• Jurerê Beach Village Hotel Project, special commission of paintings for the hotel in Jurerê, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
2000
• Paintings and murals for the design exhibition “Estar.com” in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
2000/01
• Paintings at the Design Exhibition “Casa Cor Sul” in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.