![Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Actual Size II, Ed. 2/5 [Edition of 5 + 2AP], 2016, Pigment print on premium photo paper, 300 gr., 60 x 80 1/8 in. (152.4 x 203.6 cm.)](https://img.artlogic.net/w_1010,h_580,c_limit/exhibit-e/5ab12bb7a09a72340a8b4568/a5c96f653520abd2d8d64cee39a62a78.jpeg)
![Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Actual Size I, Ed. AP1 [Edition of 5 + 2AP], 2015, Pigment print on premium photo paper 300 gr., 60 x 60 in. (152.4 x 152.4 cm.)](https://img.artlogic.net/w_1010,h_580,c_limit/exhibit-e/5ab12bb7a09a72340a8b4568/532d55492b662bd1676aa9b51281f83d.jpeg)
Summer Contemporaries
María Fernanda Cardoso, Thomas Glassford, Melanie Smith, and Jorinde Voigt
July 14 – August 20, 2022
Maria Fernanda Cardoso in her Sydney, Australia studio, 2020. Photograph: Daniel Boud.
Maria Fernanda Cardoso's studio, Sydney, Australia, 2019.
Maria Fernanda Cardoso in her garden, Sydney, Australia, 2020. Photograph: Daniel Boud.
Maria Fernanda Cardoso in her studio, Sydney, Australia, 2020. Photograph: Daniel Boud.
Maria Fernanda Cardoso's studio, Sydney, Australia, 2019.
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, studio research.
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Actual Size II, Ed. 2/5 [Edition of 5 + 2AP], 2016, Pigment print on premium photo paper, 300 gr., 60 x 80 1/8 in. (152.4 x 203.6 cm.)
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Actual Size I, Ed. AP1 [Edition of 5 + 2AP], 2015, Pigment print on premium photo paper 300 gr., 60 x 60 in. (152.4 x 152.4 cm.)
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, On the Origins of Art II, (Edition of 3 + 2AP), 2016, Single channel HD video, hyper realistic sound with tactile dimension, Video: 6:54 min
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, On the Origins of Art I, (Edition of 3 + 2AP), 2016, Single channel HD video, hyper realistic sound with tactile dimension, Video: 6:54 min
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, "While I Live I Will Grow," Greensquare, Sydney, 2016. Commissioned by Sydney City Council, and produceed in collaboration with Sydney Design Collective and Bates Landscapes
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, "While I Live I Will Grow," Greensquare, Sydney, 2016. Commissioned by Sydney City Council, and produceed in collaboration with Sydney Design Collective and Bates Landscapes
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, "While I Live I Will Grow," Greensquare, Sydney, 2016. Commissioned by Sydney City Council, and produceed in collaboration with Sydney Design Collective and Bates Landscapes
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, "While I Live I Will Grow," Greensquare, Sydney, 2016. Commissioned by Sydney City Council, and produceed in collaboration with Sydney Design Collective and Bates Landscapes
MARIA FERNANDA CARDOSO
[1963, Colombia]
Sydney-based artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso, born in Bogotá, Colombia, blends nature, art, science, and technology to transform unconventional materials into awe-inspiring installations, sculptures, performances, and videos. Her beautiful work invites us to experience the wonders of nature.
One of her most fabled projects is The Cardoso Flea Circus (1994-2000), a performance piece featuring real live fleas. Over the course of a six-year period, Cardoso trained fleas to perform surprising feats such as walking on tightropes, pulling chariots, jumping through hoops, and dancing the tango.
In 2000, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City commissioned her to create a major new installation featuring 36,000 plastic lilies along a 125-foot-long wall. The permanent beauty of the plastic flowers, which imitated the architecture of old cemeteries in Colombia, expressed a mourning for lives lost during the rampant violence suffered in her country of birth. She represented Colombia at La Biennale di Venezia in 2003, exhibiting a large installation of starfish woven together into a submarine landscape called Woven Water. In that same year she had a major solo show, Zoomorphia, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), Sydney.
Throughout her career, Cardoso has continued to explore nature and its links to culture and science. In 2012, she completed her PhD at the Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) at The University of Sydney. Her research on the aesthetics of reproductive morphology—likely to be one of the more unusual studies to be presented in the hallowed halls of academia—culminated in the Museum of Copulatory Organs (MoCO). She has used a variety of means to explore our complex and awe-inspiring world: employing microscopes to capture the sex organs of invertebrates and plants; shearing and dying sheepskins to create murals; arranging preserved frogs into abstract patterns; filming the mating rituals of Australian peacock spiders; and using emu feathers to create avant-garde capes and hats. Cardoso has lived and worked in Sydney since 1997.
She is a recipient of the prestigious Creative Australia Fellowship from the Australia Council for the Arts. Her work has been shown in selected exhibitions such as Museum of Copulatory Organs (MoCO), Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2012); New Media/New Materials: Highlights in
Contemporary Art from The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (2007); Cardoso Flea Circus, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), Texas, USA (Installation) (2000); Puntos de Vista. Zeitgenössische Kunst aus der Daros-Latinamerica Collection, Daros Latinamerica Collection, Zurich, Switzerland (2007);Cardoso Flea Circus, live performances and exhibition, The Exploratorium, San Francisco, California, USA (1995); Naked Flora, Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, JamFactory, Adelaide, Australia (2018); Aliento: Arte de Colombia, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Bochum, Germany (2013); Versiones del Sur: 5 propuestas en torno al arte en Latinoamerica, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain (2000); Transcontinental, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), California, USA (1999); Contingent Beauty: Contemporary Art from Latin America. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Texas, USA (2015); Modern Starts: People, Places, Things, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, New York, USA (1999); and Cardoso Flea Circus, New Museum, New York City, New York, USA (Video installation) (1998).
Recently, the Tate / MCA Joint Acquisitions Program acquired early works Corn Coil and Corn Drawings (1989) by the artist, as well as recent works On the Origins of Art I-II and Actual Size I and II (2016). Over the last two decades, the Tate Modern also acquired the Cardoso Flea Circus Tent and Video (1996) and Woven Water (2003). Cardoso's work also is included in the following collections: Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA; Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC), Caracas, Venezuela and New York City, New York, USA; The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá (MAC), Colombia; Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (MAMBO), Colombia; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), Sydney, Australia; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), California, USA; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Texas, USA; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia; National Gallery of Victoria (NCV), Melbourne, Australia; Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Florida, USA; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), California, USA; and Tate Modern, London, England, UK.
2025
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise, Carins Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia; Charles Darwin University Art Gallery, NT, Australia; Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW, Australia; Geraldton Art Gallery, WA, USA; Bunjil Place, Victoria, Australia; Orange Regional Gallery, NSW, Australia; Canberra Museum and Gallery, Australia. Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise, Carins Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia
2023
Fierce Maternity, Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney, Australia
2022
Ripples and Droplets, Online Show with Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney, Australia
Gumnut Spheres, Frankston Arts Centre, Australia
2021
Gumnuts and Sandstone, Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney, Australia
2018
On the Origins of Art, Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, Houston, TX, USA
Timeline, Apología a lo perecedero, Casas Riegner Gallery, Bogotá, Colombia
The Art Of Seduction, ARC ONE Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Naked Flora, Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art, The Jam Factory, Adelaide, Australia
2013
Undressing a Flower, William Wright Artist Projects, Sydney, Australia
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Organos Intromitentes, Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogotá, Colombia
Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Colección de Arte del Banco de La República, Touring to the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Bogotá, Medellín, Bucaramanga, and Cúcuta, Colombia
2012
Museum of Copulatory Organs (MoCO), 18th Biennale of Sydney, Australia
2011
María Fernanda Cardoso: It’s Not Size That Matters It Is Shape, ARC One Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Masters of Disguise, Freemantle Arts Centre, Australia
2010
Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Garden of Insects, Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogotá, Colombia
Emu Wear at the Rodman Centre for the Arts, Brock University, Ontario, Canada
María Fernanda Cardoso: Fashion and Mimesis, Rodman Centre for the Arts Brock University, Ontario, Canada
María Fernanda Cardoso: Fashion and Mimesis, Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Canada
2009
Emu Wear, GRANTPIRRIE Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2008
Mimicry, Berenice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
María Fernanda Cardoso, Arc One Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Fashion and Mimesis, Definitely Superior Gallery, Thunder Bay, Canada (Performance)
Emu Wear, Berenice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL, USA (Performance)
Emu Wear, Casula Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia (Performance)
2007
María Fernanda Cardoso: Emu, Galeria Casas Riegner, Bogotá, Colombia
2006
María Fernanda Cardoso: Death Becomes Her, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY, USA
Emu Next 5km, GRANTPIRRIE Gallery, Sydney, Australia
María Fernanda Cardoso, Sicardi Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
2004
María Fernanda Cardoso, GRANTPIRRIE Gallery, Sydney, Australia
María Fernanda Cardoso: 20 años, Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia
Cara de Buseta (Bus Face), Galeria Diners, Bogotá, Colombia
2003
Cara de Buseta (Bus Face), Casas-Riegner, Miami, FL, USA
Zoomorphia: María Fernanda Cardoso, Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney, Australia
Biogeometrias / Biogeometries, Latin collector, New York, NY, USA
María Fernanda Cardoso, Galeria Diners, Bogotá, Colombia
Sheep, Artspace Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Sheep, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C., USA
2002
Dibujo de Mariposas / Butterfly Drawings, Galería Casas-Riegner, Miami, FL, USA
Dibujos de Mariposas / Butterfly Drawings, Galería Diners, Bogotá, Colombia
2000
Cardoso Flea Circus, live performances, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Festival 2000, Australia
Cardoso Flea Circus, live performances, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
Cardoso Flea Circus, Contemporary Arts Museum (CAMH), Houston, TX, USA (Installation)
Esculturas/Sculptures, Galería Sala Alternativa, Caracas, Venezuela
Cardoso Flea Circus Live, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland (Performance)
Cardoso Flea Circus Live, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Festival, Australia (Performance)
1998
Cardoso Flea Circus, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY, USA (Video installation)
Cardoso Flea Circus, live performances, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Quartier D’ete Festival, Paris, France
Cardoso Flea Circus, live performances, Awesome International Children’s Festival, Perth, Australia
1997
Cardoso Flea Circus, live performance and exhibition, Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA, USA
1996
Cardoso Flea Circus, The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FMW), Philadelphia, PA, USA
1995
Love Down Under, Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
Cardoso Flea Circus, live performances and exhibition, San Francisco Exploratorium, CA, USA
Cardoso Flea Circus live performance, The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FMW), Philadelphia, PA, USA
Cardoso Flea Circus Live, San Francisco Exploratorium, CA, USA
1994
Submarine Landscape, Capp Street Project, San Francisco, CA, USA
Woven Water, Ruth Bloom Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, USA
María Fernanda Cardoso: Recent Sculptures, MIT List Visual Art Center, Cambridge, MA, USA
María Fernanda Cardoso, Orange County, CA, USA
Gold, Nohra Haime Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1993
Cemetery, Chapman University, San Francisco Artspace, CA, USA
Gold, Nohra Haime Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Botuto Guarura / Gourds, Sala Alternativa, Caracas, Venezuela
El Marmol Americano / American Marble, Ruth Bloom Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
1992
Calabazas / Gourds Recent Sculptures, San Francisco Art Space, CA, USA
Botuto Guarura (Gourds), Sala Alternativa, Caracas, Venezuela
El Marmol Americano (American Marble), Ruth Bloom Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
1991
Obra Reciente / Recent Work, Galeria Garces y Velasquez, Bogotá, Colombia
1987
Nuevos Nombres / New Names, Casa de La Moneda, Bogotá, Colombia
Artbank, Australia
Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia
Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), Miami, FL, USA
Colección de Arte Banco de la Republica, Bogotá, Colombia
Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, Caracas, Venezuela
Daros Latinamerica, Zürich, Switzerland
Gold Coast Art Gallery, Gold Coast, Australia
Miami Art Museum, FL, USA
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Bogotá, Colombia
Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA, USA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), TX, USA
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Newcastle Regional Art Gallery, Cooks Hill, Australia
Pérez Art Museum, Miami Beach, FL, USA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA, USA
Tamworth Regional Art Gallery, Tamworth NSW, Australia
Tate Modern, London, UK
The Arts Centre Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise, Australia
The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM), Philadelphia, PA, USA
The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX, USA
The Space Collection, Irvine, CA, USA
Anonymous female artisans from Chile, Tania Bruguera, Cristina Hernández Botero, Margarita Cabrera, Melissa Calderón, Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Melba Carillo, Marta Chilindron, Alessandra Expósito, Iliana Emilia Garcia, Scherezade Garcia, Dulce Gómez, Carmen Herrera, Jessica Kairé, Carmen Lomas Garza, Evelyn López de Guzmán, Anna Maria Maiolino, Glendalys Medina, Ana Mendieta, Marina Núñez del Prado, Liliana Porter, Raquel Rabinovich, Nitza Tufiño
For Maria Fernanda, the Maratus spider holds a special place in the natural ecosystem:
"The Maratus spiders of Australia are the most colorful, flamboyant, sexy, and charming spiders on the planet. To me, their use of colour, gesture, sound and movement makes them sophisticated visual and performing artists. They are also the smallest performers I know of, on average about 3—5mm in size, smaller than a grain of rice."
"The male has to try extremely hard (both in visual communication as well as in charm and perseverance) to be ‘chosen’ by her. She exercises her right to choose, and drives him to display an excess of vibrant colour and performance virtuosity in a complex courtship ritual."
Emerging Camouflage of the Ancestral Past: The Plumage in the Work of María Fernanda Cardoso is an academic article written and researched by Maité Soledad Rodríguez and found in the magazine Índex, a contemporary art magazine, a biannual publication of the Visual Arts Program, of the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.
Bogotá-based artist María Fernanda Cardoso spoke to Diners about Ripples and Droplets, her third piece of public art, revealed at the end of March and located in Sydney, with which she has once again shaken up the Australian art scene. [This article is in Spanish.]
Colombian-born Australian artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso works with vegetal elements. One of her public art installations draws upon 19th-century traditions of scientific observation, whilst also engaging with the conatus and agency of the bottle tree. This paper proposes that Cardoso’s ‘magical’ planting of bottle trees creates a circle of discourse regarding pre-human earth life, whilst gesturing towards speculations on post-human earth life. If we could hear the voices of the bottle trees, would they be a mournful weeping for lost habitats, or instead could they be an incantation for unknown futures? This research draws upon the dual cultures of both the artist and the bottle tree, to present a new way of listening to the earth.
An academic publication by Lara Stephens focusing on deep dramaturgy and the making of the Cardoso Flea Circus and On the Origins of Art projects as subjects of these analyses.
Daily Telegraph, Sydney's Elizabeth Fortescue, Arts Editor, writes Weaving a tiny web of intrigue covering the artist's work with Maratus spiders
What was once a backyard swimming pool is now a murky pond with a budding ecosystem. In a corner of the overgrown garden rests a stone roughly hand-engraved with ‘‘TIME IS’’. The wild cacophony of nature continues inside with native flowers, a pair of preserved emu legs, butterfly wings, piles of rocks, animal skin, feathers and gum nuts scattered across benches, tables and side desks.
Sydney-based artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso will create a major new series of sculptures from a rare significant find of approximately 4,000 cubic-metres of ‘yellow Sydney’ sandstone, harvested and commissioned by TWT Property Group. TWT specialise in establishing quality residential communities with a commitment to art and architecture; they’re also the masterminds behind the TWT Creative Precinct – home to over 70 artists, making it the fastest growing creative precinct in the nation.
