Mia Araujo is an Argentine-American painter who is best known for her elaborate and detailed works of

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

imagery. Her work has been shown in internationally recognized galleries, including Roq La Rue Gallery, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Corey Helford Gallery, in California, Haven Gallery in Northport, New York, and

Dorothy Circus Gallery Dorothy Circus Gallery is a contemporary art gallery exhibiting artworks belonging to lowbrow, graffiti, and street art. Overview Dorothy Circus Gallery was founded in 2007 by publisher Maddalena Di Giacomo and her daughter, Alexandra Mazzan ...

, in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Her work has been prominently featured in such high profile arts publications as Hi-Fructose Magazine, Juxtapoz, and

Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA) was founded in 1953 by a group of Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that ...

.Spoor, Nathan (5 June 2011)
"Suggestivism"
. Gingko Press. Retrieved 13 October 2015. Born 1986 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Mia graduated Valedictorian from the

Otis College of Art and Design Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aero ...

, with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Illustration and a minor in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

.Interview with Mia Araujo
November 2008. Her work was first exhibited in the Roq La Rue Gallery, in 2008. Since then her work has since been featured in more than 25 galleries across the United States. Her paintings tend towards the movements of

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

and suggestivism and she lists some of her creative influences as

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

Takehiko Inoue is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for the basketball series ''Slam Dunk'' (1990–1996), and the ''jidaigeki'' manga '' Vagabond'', which are two of the best-selling manga series in history. Many of his works are about basketball, I ...

Glen Keane Glen Keane (born April 13, 1954) is an American animator, director, author and illustrator. As a character animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios for 38 years (1974–2012), he worked on feature films including ''The Little Mermaid'', ''Beau ...

, and

Kinuko Craft Kinuko Yamabe Craft (born January 3, 1940) is a Japanese-born American painter, illustrator and fantasy artist. Biography Kinuko Yamabe Craft was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan on January 3, 1940. She graduated with a Bachelor of ...

.David, Jo (2014)
"Sacred and Profane Issue"
Miroir Magazine. Pages 82-83. Retrieved 13 October 2015.

''Into the Woods''

On May 12, 2012, Araujo released her first solo exhibition, titled "Into the Woods," at Corey Helford Gallery. This particular collection centers conceptually around the synthesis of the self and Nature. Araujo situates her figures in the outdoors but simultaneously incorporates aspects of the inner, "truest" self into these paintings. The works are replete with fragments of the main figures' dreams, emotions, fears, and fantasies - all layered into surreal natural backdrops. In this way, she fuses idyllic ethereal imagery with darker, nightmarish impressions. Araujo cites Miyazaki’s film ''

Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated historical drama, historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Set in the Muromachi period of Japanese history, the film follows Ashitaka, a young Emishi prince who journeys west to cure his curs ...

'', the writings of

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

, and

Timothy Egan Timothy P. Egan (born November 8, 1954) is an American author, journalist, and former op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times''. Egan has written ten books. Egan, a third-generation Westerner, lives in Seattle. His first book, ''The Good Rain ...

’s book ''The Big Burn'' as a few of her primary inspirations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Araujo, Mia Living people Modern painters Argentine surrealist artists American surrealist artists Women surrealist artists Painters from Los Angeles Otis College of Art and Design alumni 1986 births 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters