Maria Szakats (Romania, 1984) is an Austrian designer and visual artist who works primarily with textile. She has a MFA from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, and is living and working in Paris, France. By utilising a wide array of technical skills with which she produces works combining textiles and installation, she attempts to create a tension between craft , material, image and space. Even though attracted to the banality of techniques like knitting, embroidery and crochet, she intends to create a visual impact which is separating the work from any expected notions.
Szakats is coming to terms with her decade-long experience as a designer in the fashion industry. This has led her to question notions of value in terms of production time, use and material. In her artistic process, the appreciation of manual work is paramount.
