ANA

ROOTS

Discover the world behind the work.

The Venezuelan rainforests and natural landscapes that shape Ana's vision, the rare woods and hand-woven fibers she transforms into sculpture, and the deep belief that trees hold something essential about the connection between earth and sky.

BIOGRAPHY

Ana Mariani (b. 1965, State of Bolívar, Venezuela) creates wood and textile sculpture rooted in the ancient landscapes of the Orinoquia, a vast rainforest region where the Orinoco and Amazon converge, shaped by mythological plateaus and indigenous traditions stretching back millennia. The daughter of Italian immigrants, Mariani grew up between the primordial grandeur of southern Venezuela and the cultural memory of southern Italy, an origin that gives her work its distinctive fusion of ancestral spirituality and contemporary abstraction.

Working from her studio in Winter Park, Florida, she selects various types of wood such as of pine, birch, poplar, and aspen, each carrying deep symbolic meaning across world cultures, and wraps them in layered, hand-woven textiles using rare natural fibers: Mohair from Angora goats, Tibetan goat wool, alpaca, virgin merino, qiviut, camel hair, sari silk, and hand-spun cottons sourced across continents. The result erases the boundary between painting and sculpture, between nature and craft, between the material and the spiritual.

Mariani's works are held in private collections across the United States, Europe, and Central and South America, and have been commissioned for luxury hospitality and corporate environments including properties by Hilton, Brasada Ranch, and Southall Farm & Inn.

Her exhibition record spans art fairs and galleries in Miami, Madrid, Charleston, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and beyond, including Miami Art Week, ESTAMPA/IFEMA Madrid, Art Marbella, Context Art Miami, and Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary. She is represented by Jules Place Art & Consulting.

In June/July 2026, Mariani is exhibiting at the Orlando Museum of Art as part of Echoes of the Ancient in Contemporary Voices, a thematic group exhibition selected by the OMA curatorial team, a significant institutional recognition of her practice and its place within the broader conversation of contemporary art rooted in ancestral knowledge.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I have opened a window to nature and created a language to communicate what I discover and perceive about it. I listen to it; I listen to the trees and they become the raw material for my works. The materials I use are the protagonists of my proposal. I use wood and branches of different types. The Pine tree, whose essence is nobility and aroma, since the evergreen conifers are an embodiment of the inexhaustible and eternal principles of life. The branches of Poplar (Aspen), which in many cultures throughout history have attributed healing and mystical properties. Another of the woods that I use is the Birch tree, which since ancient times has been considered a sacred tree that for the Celts symbolized the Sun and the Moon.

If we delve into its spiritual meaning, the tree shows us a connection between the Earth (roots) and the sky (branches). There are various myths that talk about the tree of life and its link between the human and the divine. The tree is considered the embodiment of the vital principle because throughout the seasons of the year, its periodic renewal allows us to perceive the sacred energy of the living.

The wood and branches of the trees that I utilize and that nourish my works come to life and are bearers of remote beliefs. I illuminate those branches again, weaving abstract designs of intense colors into their contours.

Regarding my creative process I can say that I do not work on my artwork, I caress my artwork as an emotional need. Once I define the shape and arrangement of the wood, I let them speak to me and I follow my instinct and a thread of color invites another of a different color and texture, they come naturally to me, they are not thought, it is my intuition and my hands that work with the same strength and intensity of nature while I cover them with goat wool; Mohair yarn from the Angora goat, one of the oldest textile fibers, produced exclusively in Turkey, I also use those from the Tibetan goat; alpaca wool, virgin merino sheep wool, cotton, rayon family threads. I also use camel hair, llama hair, qiviut or Alaskan musk ox wool fiber and fabric, and some man-made fibers, such as cotton thread, sari silk yarn, among others.

I connect in such a way to the work in progress that each layer of abstract fabrics tells a part of the story that I wish to convey. What defines me as an artist is that each of my pieces are unique.

With my Illuminated Branches, I invite the observer to accompany me to explore the restorative properties of nature, promoting a reconnection with our environment and a re-enchantment of our world.

COLLECTIONS

Her pieces reside in private collections in Spain, Italy, Japan, Panama, Aruba, Venezuela, and across the United States, and they appear in notable hospitality and design projects. Installations and collections have been placed at Brasada Ranch Resort, Southall Farm & Inn, Canyon House in Colorado, major hotel properties in Florida and Japan, and corporate environments in Dallas and beyond.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Okinawa Collection 18 Piece Commission– Ilya for Canopy by Hilton Miyako Island Oct. 2025.

Hilton Sedona 2 Piece Commission – Forrest Perkins Aug. 2025.

Dallas Office 2 Piece Commission – IndieWalls Jul. 2025.

Jules Place Art & Consulting – Since Mar. 2025.

Undisclosed Luxury Hospitality - California Permanent Collection - Dec. 2024.

UW Health / Eastpark Medical Center - Madison Wisconsin Permanent Collection - Oct. 2024.

Canyon House - Colorado Permanent Collection - Jun. 2024.

Brasada Ranch Luxury Resort Hotel 16 Piece “Foresta Bruma” Collection Commission, Aug. 2023.

Southall Farm & Inn Luxury Resort 10 piece “Sherwood” Collection Commission, Aug. 2022.

“It was a pleasure working with Ana on my client’s commissioned artwork. She was friendly, responsive, and produced a lovely textile piece that was exactly what we had discussed.

… I appreciate that she sources from farmers who care about their products and carefully sustaining their natural resources.

Ana is someone that I am looking forward to working with again—her warmth and creativity make her a treasured resource for my interior design studio!”

—Amy (Bubier) Klosterman
AB Design Elements

FAQ

Thank you for your interest in my life as an artist. I hope this FAQ can answer some of your questions and open up a dialogue.

  • I was born in the State of Bolívar, in the south of Venezuela — a vast, ancient rainforest region where the Orinoco and Amazon converge. I grew up surrounded by landscapes of mythological scale, and by the cultural memory of my Italian immigrant parents.

    Both worlds are woven into everything I make.

    My father, a welder who was an artist in my eyes, taught me to work with my hands and to love deeply. His spirit is present in every piece.

  • My path wasn't linear. It was shaped by years of travel, observation, and a growing need to find a language for what I experienced in nature.

    After studying law, I began a long and intricate relationship with art, experimenting with painting, sculpture, photography and textiles.

    When I established my studio in Winter Park, Florida, I began working with various wood types and fibers in a way that felt instinctive and inevitable. The trees had always spoken to me. The work became a way of listening and responding.

  • I work with various types of wood such as pine, birch, and aspen, each carrying deep symbolic meaning across cultures and centuries, and wrap them in rare natural fibers sourced from around the world: Mohair from Angora goats, Tibetan goat wool, alpaca, qiviut, virgin merino, sari silk, camel hair, cottons and core and hand-spun art yarns among others.

    Every material is chosen with intention. The fiber and the wood are not separate from the meaning. They are the meaning.

  • Nature is my primary inspiration and by artists like Sheila Hicks, whose commitment to textile as a serious contemporary medium has been a guiding light for my own practice.

  • My work has been shown at galleries and art fairs in Miami, Boston, Madrid, Marbella, Charleston, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and beyond, including Miami Art Week, ESTAMPA/IFEMA Madrid, Art MArbella, Context Art Miami, and Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary.

    I am currently exhibiting at the Orlando Museum of Art from June to July 2026. A full exhibition history is available on the Exhibitions page.

  • Yes. Commissions are at the heart of my practice. I work closely with collectors, art advisors, interior designers, and architects to create pieces that are entirely site-specific and personal. If you have a space or a vision in mind, I'd love to hear about it.

  • I am currently open to welcoming interns and apprentices into the studio. These are unpaid positions designed for emerging artists and makers who wish to gain hands-on experience working with natural woods, rare fibers, and the full scope of a working textile art practice.

    While paid positions cannot be guaranteed, there is genuine potential for the right candidate as the studio grows. If you are a passionate artist or creative, I'd love to hear from you.

    Please reach out through the Contact page with a brief introduction and any relevant experience or background.