Maxine Nienow's images of dark beauty convey her poignant sense of wonder and social conscience.

Born in Mexico, Maxine had sought to balance the difference between the exuberant traditions of her culture and the casually violent world that lay outside the walls of her loving home. The images in her mind of surrender and struggle, seeking and being lost come to life in her photography. Dancers trapped in jungle mazes, nymphs and butterflies drifting through industrial spaces; Maxine shows the duality of beauty and destruction –and the awe in it all.

Maxine uses her painting, video and performance as vehicles of collaboration, expression and community building. Her painting has recently led her to the co-creation of FlutuArte, a collaborative floating gallery of art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Her need to express her visions led Maxine to study painting in Paris, Cultural Studies in Cuba and UC Berkeley, ultimately earning her BFA at Parsons School of Design in New York. Her work has been seen all over North and South America including Art Basel in Miami, The Armory in New York as well as the Hermitage Museum in Russia.

She currently lives and works in New York.

Contact: maxine.nc@gmail.com

Photo by Alexander Berg