Faces of Africa Opening Reception

About Marica Quartuccia

Marica Quartuccia is a visual artist, who lives and works in Marseille, France. She now spends a significant amount of time in Boston since her children and grandchildren moved here 12 years ago. Over the past twenty years, Marica has participated in numerous exhibitions in France, Brazil, Spain, and the United States. She considers painting as a political act—a way to agitate against injustice and to push us to take action against the status quo.

Artist Statement

By representing the unknown African heroes who strive, and often risk their lives daily to ensure the respect of human dignity, I want to pay tribute to the sacred nature of their remarkable deeds, which preserve and enrich humanity.

What matters is not for the painting to be beautiful but for it to accomplish what it was made for, that is to denounce injustice and show the incredible resilience and strength of those who fight it and dare to challenge the status quo. In the Egyptian civilization, the sculptor was the one who “kept alive.” Painting became the representation of sacred characters. In the same way, to me, the purpose of painting is to “keep alive” the often unknown heroes who tirelessly try to improve the lives of others in their community, in spite of hardship their face. To me, their lives are sacred and my work celebrates them with the hope that they will inspire others to action.

Exhibiting at the French Library was an obvious thing to do for two reasons. First, my paintings often depict characters in French-speaking countries. Second, the Center incarnates a bridge between the past, the present, and the future. The past because France is where I live and where I have developed as an artist. The present, since my kids have settled in the new world and in this city of Boston that is emblematic of US history and culture. The future, as I hope my work will help understand the importance of art in agitating against injustice and pushing us to take action against the status quo to help address the pressing social challenges that we face.