Mariana Quito

Mariana Quito (Alentejo, Portugal, 1928 – Santos, SP, 2003) was a notable Portuguese-Brazilian ceramist, painter, and printmaker. Born in São Miguel de Machede, Alentejo, she moved to Lisbon in 1954, where she began dedicating herself to ceramics. From 1959 to 1964, she studied painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and printmaking in the evening course at the Boulevard de Montparnasse School, directed by Jean Delpech.

Between 1962 and 1963, Mariana Quito was a Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation fellow in Paris, where she exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon des Artistes Français, and the Salon des Beaux-Arts. During this period, she received the 1st Prize from the Atelier Souverbi, the 1st Prize from the Lefranc Competition, and the 1st Honorable Mention from the Municipality of Paris.

Upon returning to Portugal, Quito continued to work with printmaking, especially at the Cooperativa dos Gravadores Portugueses in Lisbon. She was awarded national prizes at various exhibitions, including the Spring Salon (1967), Autumn Salon (1968), 1st Setúbal Fine Arts Salon (1968), and the 1st Summer Prize from the Costa do Sol Tourism Board.

She held solo exhibitions in Lisbon, Estoril, and Luanda. In 1975, she moved to Brazil, settling in São Paulo, where she continued her artistic career and taught printmaking. The Belo Horizonte Municipal Museum organized an exhibition of her works that toured major museums in Brazil. The Cooperativa dos Gravadores Portugueses published four of her works.

From 2000 onwards, Mariana Quito coordinated the printmaking course at the Santos Cultural Secretariat, whose studio is now named Ateliê de Gravura Mariana Quito. She participated in several biennials, including Paris (1967), Péscia (1968), Liège, Ljubliana, Catania, Madrid, Barcelona (1969), Rijeka (1972), and the II International Printmaking Biennial in Frenchen. Her works are represented in the Prints Cabinet of the National Library of Paris and many other national and international collections.

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