Maia Cruz Palileo
Photo by Kay Hickman
Maia Cruz Palileo is a multi-disciplinary artist whose works address themes of migration and the maleable concept of home.
Influenced by oral histories of their family’s arrival in the United States from the Philippines, as well as the colonial relationship between the two countries, Palileo infuses these narratives with memory and care. Figures appear and disappear into lush landscapes, domestic interiors, and colonial structures. Deep blues and reds suggest dark realms where superstition, myth, and history blur. Evoking a hybrid sense of place, Palileo’s paintings serve as metaphors for migration and the persistence of tacit knowledge in the face of assimilation.
Brooklyn, NY
Born 1979, Chicago, IL
2015 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Madison, ME
2008 MFA Brooklyn College, CUNY, Brooklyn, NY
2001 BA Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA