Step into a world of exuberant color and intricate storytelling with Maria A. Guzmán Capron: Penumbra, on view April 19–September 27 at Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design. In this solo exhibition, the California-based artist explores the nuances of identity through 10 vibrant figurative textiles. Capron was born in Milan to Peruvian and Colombian parents and immigrated to Texas as a teenager. Her work is deeply informed by her personal experience navigating different cultures, languages and geographies.
“Penumbra invites viewers to engage with art that reflects the beautiful, ever-evolving collage of human experience. Through her layered portraits, Maria A. Guzmán Capron creates multi-faceted characters that challenge traditional social hierarchies and expand compassion and care,” said Lacie Barbour, the associate curator of exhibitions at Sarasota Art Museum.
Capron’s plush figurative portraits, constructed from hand-dyed and screen-printed fabrics, serve as a visual metaphor for the multi-faceted nature of identity. By exaggerating hands and other anatomical features, she emphasizes the power of touch, explores the value of family and friendship and challenges traditions that present art as distant and inaccessible. Her work also elevates the potential of nonverbal communication. While several characters exchange glances with one another, Capron often designates one character to engage the viewers, inviting them into the group. Déjame Llevarte (2025), translated to “let me take you,” depicts the power of companionship and trust with two characters walking hand in hand composed of vibrant painted and printed fabrics. The figures, though clearly individuals, mirror each other and begin to blend with one another as they embark on a journey together, creating a dense, tactile sense of interconnectedness and community.
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Image Credit: Maria A. Guzmán Capron. Brisa Corriendo, 2024. Hand dyed and screen printed fabrics and thread, 76 x 56 in. Courtesy the artist and Nazarian/Curcio.