明蓮花
Born in Argentina
Lives and works in Taiwan.
Often inspired by literature, memories of growing up in Argentina, Taiwanese folklore, and the natural world, Marina's work begins with flowers—fragile, resilient forms that embody both fleeting beauty and the persistence of life. In their petals and stems she finds echoes of the human condition: cycles of growth, decay, renewal, and the quiet power of transformation. Alongside these botanical forms, she paints people—not as isolated figures, but as beings entwined with the living fabric around them. She often invites friends, family, and complete strangers to sit for her, as well as her eight-year-old son, who sometimes paints parts of her works.
Marina often works on unconventional surfaces such as cardboard, barkcloth she makes from the inner bark of the Paper Mulberry tree, and discarded materials collected from daily life. These surfaces carry their own histories of use and wear, becoming active participants in the work. Their imperfections and textures speak to the rhythms of transformation—the ways things are continually broken down and remade, just like cycles in nature.
Through this interplay of flora and humanity, Marina is interested in the way the fabric of nature rewrites the becoming of time and space and seeks to explore what it means to be an individual in a world where everything is interconnected. Each brushstroke is a meditation on the threads that bind us—to nature, to each other, and to time itself. In her paintings, the boundaries between body and blossom blur, revealing how our presence is continually reshaped by the environments we inhabit.
Ultimately, her paintings are an inquiry into presence: how to be in the world as both individual and collective, fragile and enduring, human and more-than-human.
*
Marina has exhibited in public and commercial galleries in the US, the UK, Australia, Taiwan, Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Italy and in museums such as Tamsui Historical Museum in Taipei and in the Museum of the City of Móstoles, in Madrid.
CV
EDUCATION
2018 Taipei National University of the Arts
B.F.A | Focus on Painting [scholarship recipient]
2013 The Art Students League of New York
Drawing & Painting
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Where everything lies,樹工場, Jiaoxi, Yilan. TAIWAN.
2021 A drop of Water, Tamsui Historical Museum 淡水古蹟博物館. Taipei, TAIWAN.
2019 Walk Toucheng, Have a seat 找地方坐. Taipei, TAIWAN.
2018 Rhapsody on a Windy Night, SLY art space 新樂園藝術空間. Taipei, TAIWAN.
African Tales, NOW art Space 鬧空間. Taipei, TAIWAN.
2017 Narratives: Painting's Encounter with Literature, TNUA, Taipei, TAIWAN.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2025 Toucheng Art Festival, Dali 63. Yilan, TAIWAN.
2024 Co-creation Exhibition, Yilan Cultural and Creative Park. TAIWAN.
2023 Art on a Postcard, Hoxton Gallery, London. UK.
Incognito Art Show, Sydney, AUSTRALIA.
The Sea in Their Days, Pingyuan Island Art Museum 平原小島美術館, TAIWAN.
2022 The Painting Center: Benefit 2022-2023, New York, USA.
緩緩的生活 Slow Life, Ming Shan Art Gallery 名山藝術 , Hsinchu, TAIWAN.
Global Women’s Art Festival, National Taitung Living Art Museum, Taitung, TAIWAN.
Toucheng Art Festival, Goldfish Studio. Yilan, TAIWAN.
Women's day, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. Los Angeles, USA.
The Painting Center: Benefit 2021, New York, USA.
2021 Figurative Art Now, Mall Galleries, London, UK.
Art on a Postcard: Summer Auction. Hoxton Gallery, London. UK.
Huellas de la Pandemia, Museum of the City of Mostoles, Madrid, SPAIN.
International Salon of Painting, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. L.A., USA.
Como raíces las manos, two-person show, Goldfish Studio. Yilan, TAIWAN.
Women's day, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. Los Angeles, USA.
Natural Way Six Arts Culture Center 道禾六藝文化館. Taichung, TAIWAN.
2020 Configured Personas, Alfa Art Gallery. New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Multidisciplinary Salon, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. Los Angeles, USA.
Toucheng Art Festival, Goldfish Studio. Yilan, TAIWAN.
Ensemble: Together Again, The Painting Center. New York, USA.
Bold night, In Oasis. Tainan, TAIWAN.
2019 September Art Walk, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. Los Angeles, USA.
August Art Walk, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. Los Angeles, USA.
International Salon of Painting, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. L.A., USA.
2018 Another White Moon, MAJI 集食行樂. Taipei, TAIWAN.
Graduation Exhibition, TNUA. Taipei, TAIWAN.
2016 Undergraduate group show, TNUA. Taipei, TAIWAN.
International Salon of Painting, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery. L.A., USA.
Art for Non Violence, Cirque Gallery. Mérida, Yucatán, MEXICO.
2015 Art for Non Violence, Hellada Art Center. Los Angeles, California. USA.
Art for Non Violence, Pop Secret Gallery. Los Angeles, USA.
Punto Diablos Project, Juming Museum 朱銘美術館. Taipei, TAIWAN.
2014 Human Rights, Guildhall, Launceston, Cornwall. UK.
Human Rights, San Valentino Torio, Palazzo Formosa/Castello Doria. ITALY.
Human Rights. Viedma, Villa Regina, General Roca, Rio Negro, ARGENTINA.
Human Rights at Aguafuerte Gallery. Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA.
PUBLICATIONS
2024 The Acentos Review, October, USA.
2022 October Hill Magazine, Winter Issue, USA.
The museum of americana, Issue 26, USA.
Spry Literary Journal, issue 13. USA.
2019 APÉRO Art Catalogue, August Issue. California, USA.
2014 Poetry book ''I said love'' (cover) by Dominican poet Cristino Alberto Gómez.
Indiana University Northwest's magazine "Spirits". September issue. USA.
ESTO NO ES UNA REVISTA magazine, issue 31. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Similar Peaks journal. January. USA.
ESTO NO ES UNA REVISTA. January. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Studio Project. LINEA magazine. January. New York, USA.
Straylight Literary Arts Magazine. Winsconsin, USA.
Drafthorse journal. Harrogate, Tennessee, USA.
2013 The Brooklyn Voice. August issue. USA.
Pretzelmouse Magazine. August issue. USA.
AWARDS
2024 Herbert Smith Freehills Award, UK (Longlist).
2023 Jackson's Art Prize, UK (Longlist).
Shades of red, International Juried Painting Exhibition, Camelback Gallery, USA (Finalist).
2022 Bronze Award, Still Life International Juried Painting Exhibition, Camelback Gallery, USA.
Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery, Los Angeles (Finalist).
2021 Villa de Móstoles Painting Award, Madrid, Spain (Finalist).
"A drop of Water", solo show selected to be part of Tamsui Historical Museum annual exhibition program, Taiwan.
Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires, Galicia Online Banking (Winner).
2019 International Salon, Menduiña Schneider Art Gallery, Los Angeles (Finalist).
2018 Emerging Artist Award, Alvarado Art Gallery, Argentina (Winner).
2016 Outstanding Academic Achievement, Taipei National University of the Arts.
2015 Outstanding Academic Achievement, Taipei National University of the Arts.
2014 Outstanding Academic Achievement, Taipei National University of the Arts.
COLLECTIONS
Museum of the City of Mostoles, Madrid, Spain.
Downtown Women's Center, Los Angeles, USA.
Private collections in Taiwan, Australia, Argentina, USA and Italy.