Maria Loboda's Art of Seduction and Danger

Maria Loboda, born in 1979 in Krakow and based in New York, creates works that blend refinement with erudition, using beauty as a trap. Her practice draws on cultural heritage, folklore, mysticism, science, and obsolescence, evoking Freud's concept of the uncanny. In 'A guide to insults and misanthropy' (2006), she declares art's purpose to disturb. 'Walldrawing (cyanide, arsenic, mercury, lead)' (2010) references William Morris's arsenic-laced wallpapers, using toxic pigments like Naples yellow (lead), Prussian blue (cyanide), and vermilion (mercury). For dOCUMENTA (13), she created 'This Work is dedicated to an Emperor' (2012), moving potted cypresses weekly toward Kassel's Orangerie, inspired by Roman military treatise 'De Re Militari' and Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. 'Curious and cold epicurean young ladies' (2011) features a platinum-plated silver flask filled with hydrogen, a potential explosive. Language is central: 'What will happen?' (2007) interprets the I Ching through a rearrangeable wooden parquet. Recent solo shows include Ludlow 38 (New York), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), and galerie schleicher+lange (Paris). Group shows include dOCUMENTA (13), ICA London, and Galerie des Galeries (Paris).