Maria Paula Suarez: The Alchemy of Emotion

In the bustling art scene of New York City, Colombian artist Maria Paula Suarez stands out through her distinctive embroidery on paper—a practice that transcends conventional textile art to become a profound exploration of human emotions. "To be alive is to exist in a perpetual state of evolution—an unprecedented experiment I address through my practice," Suarez explains, capturing the essence of her artistic philosophy. We had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful artist at “Unfolding Stories”, an ongoing group show at Art Gotham closing March 8. Upon visiting her studio, meeting her adorable dog Julie, and speaking with her more in depth about her work our appreciation for this creative was only deepened.

From Personal Healing to Universal Expression

Suarez's journey into embroidery began eight years ago following a health scare when doctors discovered a cyst in her left breast. Rather than retreating from this challenging moment, she requested microscopic images of the tissue samples, which became the catalyst for a significant shift in her artistic focus. "Before that, I was trying to understand Colombia as a country, its territory," she recalls. "But by feeling so alien to the realities of most Colombians, I decided to look inwards and migrate from the macro to the micro, same as the doctor, to understand the complexity of what was within, to be able to navigate the whole."

This introspective turn marked the beginning of a six-year exploration of resilience, which Suarez conceptualized in three stages: "Pain as the breaking point, healing as the process, and self-love as the result." This framework continues to inform her work, though its expression has evolved considerably over time.

The Evolution of Expression

Suarez's artistic evolution is clearly visible when comparing her work from 2022 to her current pieces in 2025. Her earlier series, "Tangled Thoughts," created in 2022, featured embroidered words that served as personal mantras to overcome anxiety and cope with daily emotional challenges. These pieces, rendered in monochromatic tones, invited viewers to engage in what Suarez describes as "a silent dialogue with the work—one that emerges from their personal interpretation of the words presented."

From these explicit textual works, Suarez's style has transformed to embrace more abstract forms that visually represent emotions rather than naming them. Where a 2022 piece might have embroidered the phrase "Relax and Release," her 2025 interpretation might present a semi-floral figure in blue tones that evokes the sensation of relaxation without explicitly stating it.

This transition reflects Suarez's deepening understanding of emotional expression. "Something beautiful that embroidery has given me is that the parts have nothing and everything to do with the whole," she notes, highlighting how her meticulous process mirrors the complexity of emotional experience.

The Process

For her new works Suarez begins with a color drawing of the emotion she’s channeling. If the emotion is a joyous one there are lots of bright colors, if sad or melancholy more blue and muted tones. Second step is embroidering over the drawing once the bones are in place. In the two works above you can see how the one will evolve into the finished embroidered work.

The work on the left above is a bit more complex than would normally provide a base layer, this piece stands on it’s own as a drawing, but it speaks to Suarez’s training and skill in multiple mediums - drawing and embroidery. As a combination of her drawing and embroidery Suarez has also experimented with connecting two drawings with thread.

Life is Alchemy: Mapping Emotional Landscapes

Her recent series "Life is Alchemy," currently on view at Big Arts on Sanibel Island, Florida, represents the culmination of this artistic journey. Inspired by Brené Brown's "Atlas of the Heart" taxonomy of emotions, Suarez has created visual representations for feelings including awe, happiness, anxiety, sadness, compassion, belonging, love, and trust.

Each emotion is captured on small rectangular paper "canvases" through embroidered shapes that emerge from Suarez's experience of that feeling. Some resemble recognizable forms like flowers—pansies appear in one piece—while others manifest as "colorful imaginary blooms" from the artist's imagination. When displayed together, these works create a vibrant emotional spectrum that celebrates the full range of human experience.

"If emotions drive behavior, my work seeks to honor the profound right—and responsibility—to feel everything," Suarez emphasizes, touching on the philosophical underpinning of her practice. Her art serves not merely as self-expression but as an invitation to viewers to acknowledge and embrace their own emotional landscapes.

The exhibition's title, "Life is Alchemy," refers to what Suarez describes as "the seemingly magical process of transformation" that emerges from experiences with love. Through her embroidered landscapes of flowers and words, she creates spaces for reflection on the emotions elicited by our contact with nature and with one another.

Beyond the Studio: Expanding Influence

While her individual artistic practice continues to flourish, Suarez has also expanded her influence in the art world through curatorial work. For the past year and a half, she has served as director at the Nohra Haime Gallery in Chelsea, which focuses on promoting South American artists. Most recently, she has curated a pop-up exhibition featuring Colombian artists and local artisans, running from March 6-9, further cementing her role as a cultural bridge between her Colombian heritage and the New York art scene.

Suarez's multifaceted career is built on solid educational foundations. She holds a Master's degree in Art Business from Sotheby's Institute of Art, where she graduated with distinctions, a bachelor's degree in visual arts with an emphasis in the plastic area, and certification as an illustrator from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has also completed pedagogy coursework at Harvard Online University as a "leader of learning."

Yet for all her academic and professional accomplishments, Suarez remains focused on the emotional core of her work. "Without those visceral thoughts and radical emotions, the process would not be what it is," she reflects. "I'm at a stage of my career where I want to let it all out so whoever reads me understands a bit more about the reason behind all of this life project."

The Language of Emotion

Throughout her artistic development, language has remained a critical element in Suarez's practice. From the explicit words of her earlier work to the more abstract "emotional vocabulary" of her recent pieces, she continues to explore "language as a tool for understanding" the complexities of love and resilience.

Each stitch represents both a moment of focused presence and a component of a larger emotional narrative—a single point that contributes to a comprehensive whole. The labor-intensive nature of embroidery becomes a metaphor for emotional processing: patient, deliberate, and ultimately transformative.

As Suarez continues to develop her unique visual language, her work stands as testimony to art's power to translate personal experience into universal connection. "Existence is alchemy," she asserts, "an endless process of transformation, moving from the outside inward and from the inside outward." Through her embroidered emotions, Maria Paula Suarez invites us all to participate in that alchemical process, transforming our own experiences into deeper understanding and, perhaps, into art.

For those interested in experiencing Suarez's work firsthand, her exhibition "Life is Alchemy" runs through April 21 vat Big Arts on Sanibel Island, Florida. More information about her work can be found at www.mariapaulasuarez.com.