Maja Sereda

I am a multidisciplinary artist. As an immigrant, I’m consistently looking to be grounded, to find my sense of home. Textures in nature have a strong visceral influence on me. They rip me away from the cultural mother and bring me closer to my own nature.

My process starts with coming across something in nature that triggers my curiosity, whether it is beautiful or bizarre. Once I find it, I research my subject; I learn about how it lives or what it is made of, how it exists within the environment where I have found it. This results in a mixed media painting or drawing which aims to encapsulate this.

Making work in the place where it comes from feels important to learning and expressing the cycles, impacts, and relationships of living with nature. My intention is to seek materials and subjects that help me create a mirror for our collective experience. The shifting and changing of home.

This latest series is deeply rooted in the dense jungles of the Peruvian Amazon, which is under threat from gold mining, poaching and logging. Amazonia's majestic nature is defenseless, so I feel called to serve as its voice through my work.

Biography

Maja Sereda is a multidisciplinary artist. Born in Poland, Maja has dedicated her life to transcribing and sharing her experiences and explorations in nature. Her highly detailed drawings explore the myriad connections between human beings and the natural world. Her work has been shown throughout the US, France and South Africa. Maja studied graphic design at the University of Pretoria, and worked as an art director in South Africa and Ireland. She is now an award-winning book illustrator. She has illustrated over 20 books with major publishers, including Penguin Random House. Now based in Seattle, Maja also teaches. During Covid she began teaching drawing classes online and nurtured a successful community of over 250 artists. Maja is passionate about nature, drawing and community and is working on projects to protect threatened ecosystems.

To purchase one of these pieces, please email us at geneva@gallerystrega.com.