In the studio, I feel safe. I am not ashamed to be small or afraid to be blunt. I am a blade of grass, fine as I am. My subjects, too, are unremarkable — people sitting dutifully in chairs, objects resting on a windowsill, one wave in an endless series crashing on the same jetty. The depictions are static and silently self-conscious. I imagine I have caught my subjects in careful self-presentation meant to elicit a sense of invisibility/invincibility, and their response is a straightforward stare. I want to tell them not to worry so much. “I love how the light hits your contours and how you look when you think no one is watching. I admire how a curve joins you with another not so far away, magically erasing distance. I like that you do not glisten or shout. I want to know you and for you to know me.” I am disciplined, frank, and sincere, and I want the work to be the same.
When beginning a piece, I take my time and make careful analytical drawings to create a logical structural underpinning. This allows me to stab, scrape, and scribble as a work evolves. I can relax and get to know small fragments in intimate ways. By incorporating controlled and spontaneous impulses in the same piece, layered upon one another, I reflect the complexity in seemingly simple setups. I often work in series, revisiting familiar objects and scenes, reflecting how they change through my evolving perspective and imperfect memory.
I seek an essential simplicity where mastery of technical skills allows for creative intentionality. I want to speak softly but with depth. My practice involves two modes: a) periods of intense looking and controlled recording that expand my ability to understand and describe my physical surroundings and b) moments of abandon where I test how ingrained in my body the precision exercises have become. I am in constant dialogue with the past as I develop my own language.
Maria Lindenfeldar is a contemporary painter based in Philadelphia, PA. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), the Modern Color Atelier/Gage Academy of Art, and the University of Pennsylvania where she earned an M.A. in the history of art. She is Creative Director at Princeton University Press.
Gage Academy of Art, Seattle, WA
Modern Color Atelier Graduate, 2024
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Certificate in Figure Studies, 2021
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
History of Art, MA, 1994; Completed PhD coursework and passed PhD preliminary exams with distinction, 1997
Creative Director, 2016 – present
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
Head of the Creative Media Lab, an in-house design studio responsible for maintaining and enhancing the Princeton University Press brand worldwide. Manage a creative team of art directors and designers responsible for the integrated visual strategy of books, the website, advertising, marketing, and social media. Serve on Directors Council as part of senior leadership team. Directly supervise assistant creative directors and design project managers as part of a twenty-person team. Work with a variety of freelance designers and illustrators. Manage $750,000+ department budget for publisher with over $35 million annual sales.
Director of Design, 2009 – 2016
Provided creative direction for over 250 books per year ranging from heavily illustrated and trade projects to scholarly monographs. Served on strategic planning committee. Leader on XML-first implementation team and other digital initiatives.
Managing Designer, 2007–2009
Managed day-to-day operation of design department. Refined workflow and clarified departmental procedures. Supervised three junior designers and one intern. Designed approximately 25 books per year as described below.
Book Designer, 2000 –2007
Designed jackets and interiors for approximately 35 scholarly books per year; non-fiction trade, heavily illustrated art books, and monographs. Prepared written type specifications and electronic layouts for interior designs. Worked closely with acquisitions editors, marketing, production coordinators, printers, and suppliers.
Writer/Graphic Designer
Towers Perrin (now Willis, Towers, Watson), Philadelphia, PA
Wrote proposals for marketing department of international consulting firm. Designed communications pieces, proposals, promotional materials, signage, and presentations.
Architectural Historian, Summer Program
Historic American Buildings Survey, Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA
Reviewed archival material and wrote interpretive summaries. Projects included: Chicago Century of Progress Exposition houses, Fairmount Park landscape and historic structures.
Preservationist
New York Landmarks Conservancy, New York, NY
Wrote and edited grant proposals for not-for-profit historic preservation organization. Planned fundraising events. Maintained donor database.
